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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23135302">An Unconventional Way to Obtain Animal Crossing: New Horizons</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/mangogoslush/pseuds/mangogoslush'>mangogoslush</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Childhood Friends, F/M, M/M, Tsukki is gay, anyway they just like being in eachothers' presences, corona virus keeps sending the college students home, his dad is a cunt tho, oh yeah corona virus exists in this au, shouyou has hyperactive, sorry if they're a little out of character I played with their dynamic a little bit, specifically animal crossing and pokemon type games, they just like...vibe together, time does not line up with canon sorry, tsukishima is studying bio and history I don't know why I just feel like it, tsukishima loves his mama, tsukki is soft for yamaguchi, tsukki loves music, why did I just use "vibe" kill me, yamaguchi has adhd-c, yamaguchi is bi, yamaguchi likes videogames, yamaguchi's parents suck</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 08:07:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>37,659</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23135302</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/mangogoslush/pseuds/mangogoslush</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>There was absolute silence for a few seconds, in which Kei was absolutely certain his life would be taken by some divine god who had a shred of kindness. Or pity, actually. It was not.<br/>There was only Yamaguchi’s voice. Slow and sure. "Akiteru thinks we’re dating."<br/>“Akiteru thinks we’re dating.”<br/>He heard the other man sigh. "So the whole town probably thinks we’re dating."<br/>Kei checked his watch comically. “By now, yes.”<br/>There was another beat of silence, but Yamaguchi broke out into laughter again. "This is! My god, there is just no, pfft! Hahaha! This cannot be happening!"</p><p>In which Tsukki needs a fake date so his brother will stop trying to set him up, and Yamaguchi accidentally gets roped into it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>184</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prelude to a Shenanigan</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kei was an idiot, idiot, idiot and he was going to die. He’d always imagined his death would be a normal way, get old, natural causes. But nope, Tsukishima Kei was going to die the lamest of deaths: from embarrassment. He glanced at the bottom corner of his laptop, reading the time. It was about ten. Not quite Serial Killer Time; he’d have to wait a few hours. Maybe if he went to a shadier part of the town he could get mugged and make a big fuss and get shanked. Did bleeding out hurt that bad? It felt like kind of a long way to die.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The song for this chapter is ゲスの極み乙女。(Gesu no Kiwame Otome)'s 私以外私じゃないの (Watashi Igai Watashi Janai No) the original and Parkgolf remix are both good and I listened to both! I have a headcanon that Tsukki likes this band, so it will be a lot of the chapter headings. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy!! (Also sorry if there's any formatting/italicization errors I am a learning man)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kei had a five-page multiple-choice online test due at midnight. He also had a brother (who he could write well over five pages about how annoying he was) calling him at the moment. Annoying brother was more entertaining, so he opened Skype and dragged Akiteru’s face to the top left his screen.</p><p> </p><p>"<em> Kei! </em>"</p><p>“Hey, nii-chan, what’s up?”</p><p>"<em> Not a lot, what’s up with you! </em>"</p><p>“Nothing much, just working on an assignment.” Kei was such a multi-tasker that he could probably knock it out while he was talking to Akiteru. He only really had to transfer his answers from the paper he (mostly) did onto the form online anyway. “Did you need anything or just calling to talk?”</p><p>"<em> Actually, work right now is so boring that I think I’m probably going to die here, so I just wanted to make sure you got my flower arrangements right. </em>"</p><p>Kei scoffed. “If by flowers you mean Rafflesia then yep, I got that covered.”</p><p>"<em> What is that? </em>"</p><p>“Nastiest smelling flower in the world,” he chuckled. Oh, wait, he marked that A and that was supposed to be B.</p><p>"<em> Oh, thanks, I’m glad we’re on the same page. </em>"</p><p>They fell into a natural conversation with good rhythm, talking about their mom, Kei’s new haircut, Aki’s dog, things like that. It was nice. They’d mellowed out as brothers. Kei wasn’t half as edgy as he was in high school and Akiteru wasn’t walking on eggshells trying to talk to him. But somewhere around the one hour mark, his older brother hummed a telling "So..." and Kei knew exactly what he was going to bring up next.</p><p>"<em> There’s this new boy at the offic- </em>"</p><p>“<em> No. </em>”</p><p>"Kei! Let me finish!"</p><p>“<em> I knew it! I knew you called to do this </em>.” It was so annoying. This was the sixth time this semester he was trying to be set up and it was only the fifth week.</p><p>"<em> I didn’t call to do it, it was just something I thought I’d bring up! Besides, I’m just saying, mama is worried about you and she thinks you’re gonna die alone or something. </em>"</p><p>“Good then! Let me die!”</p><p>"<em> Kei! If you can’t find someone to deal with you when you’re young and bitter with That Personality then when you’re old and bitter what’s gonna happen? </em>"</p><p>Kei rolled his eyes. He knew he was doing it from a good place. He knew that his brother just wanted to show his support and for him to be happy and find a boyfriend, but if he tried to play matchmaker one more time Kei was going to have a stroke. Sure, it was fun in the beginning, and some were cute, and he even considered a few. But now he was just Over It. So, being as tired and annoyed as he was, he used the last resort: lying.</p><p>“It doesn’t matter, cause I have a boyfriend.”</p><p>It wasn’t like he hadn’t tried this before, but there was something different this time. He said “boyfriend” instead of “someone I’m talking to” or “person of interest” because Akiteru would definitely pick up on that kind of thing. Before, it hadn’t really been lying, because there were other people he had been interested in, or talking to, but never someone he’d <em>seriously</em> dated.</p><p>"<em> Woah! Really? </em>"</p><p>Checkmate.</p><p>“Yeah, so you can stop already,” Kei muttered, opening a new tab to Google number 23. Fuck if he knew how big a stage one kidney tumor was supposed to be.</p><p>"<em> Wow! That’s so convenient! I’m moving back to my at-home apartment because of all this so maybe I’ll get to meet him!! </em>" Aki was shouting, now. Kei’s phone buzzed, despite the fact that he was sure that he’d put it on silent. His brother kept on rambling. He checked it, since he had absolutely no self-restraint. He’d gotten a Line message.</p><p>“<em>-his name?</em> <em>Kei! Are you even listening?</em>”</p><p>“Huh?” he mumbled, trying to split his attention between his loud brother and opening his phone. He checked the message and saw the familiar icon that made him smile instantly. “Oh, it’s Yamaguchi,” he absentmindedly said out loud. Yamaguchi hadn’t texted him in a couple days, so it was nice to get a message from him.</p><p>“<em> You’re dating Tadashi?! </em>” Aki shook his laptop, looking more excited than he’d ever seen him.</p><p>Oh. Oh no. This was bad. Once he got an idea, he held onto it, and no matter what Kei said, he would not believe him.</p><p>“Wait! No, Akiteru!”</p><p>“<em> I can’t believe you’re dating Tadashi!!! Well, I can, I absolutely knew it, but it’s the exciting sentiment of saying ‘Ah, I can’t believe it!’ Wow! I’m so excited! That’s so perfect! You two’re so perfect! </em> ”<br/>“Akiteru! I’m trying to say I’m not!” he yelled, mussing his hair in frustration.</p><p>“<em> Are you-huh? Kei, are you saying something? The audio is cutting out a little, </em>” </p><p>“Are you kidding me? Oh my fucking god. This cannot be for real. This absolutely cannot be for real.” he mumbled to himself, trying to fix it. He was not the computer genius, so it was obviously not working. “Ugh, where’s Yamaguchi when I need him?” he groaned, wanting nothing more than to die on the spot.</p><p>“<em> You said you need him? Kei! That’s so sweet! Who knew you were so mushy under all that! You two’re so perfect for each other! Finally! Wow! I’m so happy for the two of you!! </em>”</p><p>“Wait, no-”</p><p>“<em> Wow!! </em>”</p><p>He rubbed his eyes under his glasses. This was not going to end well. Even if he did explain that this was all just a misunderstanding, he would not believe him, and even if he did, he’d keep bringing it up, even with Yamaguchi around. This was just...not good. This just could not be real. This was stuff that was supposed to happen to stupid protagonists in bad hallmark rom-coms, not <em> him </em> ! Not <em> Kei </em>! He was better than that! He was better than a stupid romcom cliche that the universe had conspired against him to create. He heard another ping and decided to look at his phone while his brother yelled about how he was right or whatever.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Tsukkiiiiiii! Guess what? My school actually decided to shut down the campus, so, I’m coming home tomorrow just like you! Lucky!! &lt;(‘ 0 ’)/ </em>
</p><p>And another message, from his mother:</p><p>
  <em> Can’t wait to see you tomorrow so we can talk about the exciting news!!! </em>
</p><p> </p><p>He face-planted into his keyboard.</p><p>"<em> Kei? </em> " Aki asked. " <em> Are you alright? </em>"</p><p>Kei only grumbled in response. The universe was punishing him.</p><p>"<em> You have a class at 8 tomorrow, right? It’s getting kind of late, </em>"</p><p>“Yeah, I’m going to sleep, now, bye,” Kei said, quickly and annoyed, ending the call.</p><p>“<em> Oh! The audio’s back! By- </em>”</p><p>Kei was an idiot, idiot, idiot and he was going to die. He’d always imagined his death would be a normal way; get old, natural causes. But no, Tsukishima Kei was going to die the lamest of deaths: embarrassment. He glanced at the bottom corner of his laptop, reading the time. It was about ten. Not quite Go Out And Cross Paths With A Serial Killer Time; he’d have to wait a few hours. Maybe if he went to a shadier part of the town he could get mugged and make a big fuss and get shanked. Did bleeding out hurt that bad? It felt like kind of a long way to die. His ringtone interrupted his thoughts, and he picked up his phone. It was Yamaguchi.</p><p>Oh. Yeah. The Issue.</p><p>He took a breath in, answering the call.</p><p>“Hey,” he was sure the stress and slight panic were clear in his voice.</p><p>"<em> Hey! What’s up? Aki-nii said I should call you. </em> " Yamaguchi’s voice was smooth and clear. It was cool in a way Kei still wasn’t used to, even though it had been years. Now he was even more aware of how nervous and tinny his own sounded. " <em> Something about you being really stressed  and your computer breaking or something. </em>"</p><p>He could tell that he was fiddling with something. No, actually, he was probably playing his switch. He texted Yamaguchi?! He didn’t want to imagine that he called him because Akiteru was a gossip nightmare and <em> what did he say </em>.</p><p>“He’s so goddamn annoying, I’m gonna punch him.”</p><p>Yamaguchi chuckled, shifting the phone around. "<em> You always say that, but you always answer his calls and then you end up talking for hours, </em>"</p><p>He didn’t know how to say <em> this time is different. This time he thinks we're dating. </em> So he just continued the way the conversation was already going. Like normal.</p><p>“Was an accident.” he scoffed. “I should block his number.”</p><p>"<em> You always say that. </em> " he laughed " <em> But seriously. You sound kind of worried, what’s up? </em>"</p><p>“Uh, yeah, you should probably be worried too,” he fumbled over the words to use, and those were definitely not the right ones, especially to preface what he was going to say next.</p><p>“<em> W-what? What is it, Tsukki? Is everything alright? </em>”</p><p><em> Oh, it’s alright, it’s just that my funeral will be next week. </em> He smarted in his head.</p><p>“Uh, I just...it’s just that, you know how, <em> ugh </em>, you know how Akiteru’s always trying to set me up?”</p><p>"<em>Yeah, you complain about it every time you breathe. </em>"</p><p>“Yeah, well, I told him that I had a boyfriend.”</p><p>"<em>Which you don’t. </em>"</p><p>“Correct. And then he said he’s coming home this week! To meet him!”</p><p>Yamaguchi started cracking up. "<em> That fucking sucks Tsukki, bwahahaha! </em>"</p><p>“It gets worse! And stop laughing! You’re in this too! He thought it was you since I noticed you texted me so I said your name out loud without thinking but I wasn’t paying attention to <em> him </em> and apparently he’d said something like ‘What’s his name? Or do I know him?’ but I wasn't thinking so I thought he was asking who texted me! So now he thinks it’s you.”</p><p>Yamaguchi stopped laughing.</p><p>There was absolute silence for a few seconds, which Kei was absolutely certain his life would be taken by some divine god who had a shred of kindness. Or pity, actually.</p><p>It wasn't.</p><p>There was only Yamaguchi’s voice. Slow and sure.</p><p>"<em> Akiteru thinks we’re dating. </em>"</p><p>“Akiteru thinks we’re dating.”</p><p>He heard the other man sigh. "<em> So the whole town probably thinks we’re dating. </em>"</p><p>Kei checked his watch comically. “By now, yes.”</p><p>There was another beat of silence, but Yamaguchi broke out into laughter again.</p><p>"<em> This is! my god, there is just no, pfft! Hahaha! This cannot be happening! </em>"</p><p>“Seriously, and even if I try to convince him it’s a misunderstanding he is not going to believe me, and he’s just going to be annoying about it. Plus he already told my mom, so...” he rolled his eyes, fiddling with his pencil. After a second, he joked: “Maybe we should pretend to just to humor him. Then he’ll leave me alone.”</p><p>“<em> Hahaha. </em> ” he paused. He wished he could see Yamaguchi's face to know if it was a good silence or a bad one, but before he could clarify it was a joke, he replied, “ <em> Actually sure. </em>”</p><p>Kei blinked twice, wondering if he’d heard right. His heart thudded hard in his ribcage, and all he could bring himself to say was: “Really?”</p><p>“<em> Yeah! It’d be kinda fun, wouldn’t it? </em>” On second thought, he was glad it was only a phone call and not video, because that whole thudding in his ribcage thing could not be good and it was probably showing on his face.</p><p>“I guess,” He thought out loud. “Play pretend for a few weeks since my family isn’t that hard to fool, have a few fake dates to get away, say that we think we’re better off as friends after all, and bam, the job is done.”</p><p>"<em>Hmmmm...</em>" Yamaguchi idled, pausing to think. "<em>I kinda wanna have a messy breakup, though. I wanna throw things at you and then storm off and say ‘Tsukki, you idiot!’</em>”</p><p>“You’re having too much fun with the plot for someone who hasn’t accepted the job.”</p><p>That’s right. Yamaguchi was his best friend. Of course he’d be there for him. Everything was going to be fine.</p><p>"<em> What do I get out of it? </em>" he asked, smushing his words. He was probably eating.</p><p>“The honor of being called my boyfriend?”</p><p>"<em> Did that in high school, try again. </em>"</p><p>Kei laughed in response.</p><p>"<em> We were the jocks, how did we end up getting called gay? Well, jokes on them, now, I guess. It’s 2020, we’re all gay, bitch. </em>"</p><p>He didn’t really remember when Yamaguchi became the witty one, but it wasn’t like he minded.</p><p>“I’ll buy you New Horizons.”</p><p>Yamaguchi makes an airy gasping sound, stumbling over a few words before blurting, "<em> I’m prepared to kill a man for New Horizons, so fake dating you can’t be that hard. </em>"</p><p>“Are you sure you can handle me?” Kei joked, setting his chin in his hand. “You sound pretty confident.”</p><p>"<em> That doesn’t work when I know you’re just a huge fucking nerd. </em>"</p><p>They’d be fine. They’d be fine. It would all be fine.</p><p>He could deal with all of this in two days.</p><p>But for now, he needed to finish this test.</p><p>"Thanks, Yamaguchi,"</p><p>"<em> Of course, darling! </em>"</p><p>"Oh my god." (Yamaguchi cracked up.) "You're having too much fun already."</p><p>"<em> I'm gonna be so embarrassing. Anyway, I have to pee, so let's talk more tomorrow about the Logistics and Rules of this whole...Shenanigan. </em>"</p><p>"Yeah. My class got canceled so I'm just packing tomorrow, so whenever is fine."</p><p>"<em> Talk to you then. </em>" He said smoothly. (Kei was still not used to it)</p><p>"Talk to you then, honey."</p><p>"<em> Oh my god. Goodbye. </em>"</p><p>"Goodbye," He managed through chuckles.</p><p>There was always a sense of loneliness and disappointment when he ended a call with Yamaguchi, but he felt relieved to know that he had his bases covered. He finished the last page of the test in ten minutes and collapsed into bed.</p><hr/><p>Kei was grateful that his only class (the 8 am) was canceled the day before he left for home. Probably too grateful, he decided when his newly opened eyes settled on his phone screen, (it was already noon) and noticed he had three missed calls from Yamaguchi. No voicemails, which would have been infuriating if he hadn’t remembered what it was about.</p><p>Oh, yeah! That!</p><p>Well-Rested-And-Stress-Free-Kei was more than regretful of the conversations he’d had yesterday. Well-Rested-Kei-And-Stress-Free-Kei wasn’t sure they’d been real, actually. Well, he would have doubted it, if Yamaguchi hadn’t called him three times at 8:00, 8:02 and 9:00, respectively.</p><p>He sighed, coughing the morning from his throat, and facetimed Yamaguchi without moving. The man picked up within two and a half rings.</p><p>"<em> Hey, Tsukki! </em> " He was bright and sunshiney, huge smile. The sky was exceptionally blue where he was. " <em> I’m coming back from class, so you caught me at a good time. </em>"</p><p>“Hey, Yamaguchi,” Kei turned the brightness down on his phone.</p><p>Yamaguchi squinted at his phone, only really his nose and up showing. "<em> Oh, did you just wake up? </em>"</p><p>“Kinda,” he murmured, rolling out of bed. He should probably at least get dressed and get something to eat.</p><p>"<em> Have you eaten yet? </em>"</p><p>“Mm, not yet. Going to,” he stumbled to his mini-fridge to get some juice. “Did you, uh...did you just wanna talk more?”</p><p>"<em> Haha, yeah, just to um, get everything clear, you know. </em>" </p><p>He could hear the unsteadiness in Yamaguchi’s voice and berated himself a billion times in his head. This was the stupidest situation he could’ve put them both in. He was blurry (was his screen <em> that </em>dirty?) so Kei couldn’t really tell his expression that well, but, he was probably uncomfortable.</p><p>“Sorry. I don’t even know why I-I pulled an all-nighter the night before yesterday, doing my long ass midterm and then I had to put it all online last night, so, I was not really in my brain.” he rubbed his face in anger at the blurry contents of the fridge. He didn’t have his glasses on. “I wasn’t paying attention, I’m sorry.” He put his glasses on, blinking as everything cleared up.</p><p>"<em> Honestly? It’s not a big deal. It doesn’t really matter to me, as long as I get Animal Crossing. </em> " Yamaguchi laughed. " <em> But if you’re seriously planning to fool them we have to have an actual plan. </em>"</p><p>“I know,” Kei dragged his hand over his face again. This was all just so ridiculous that he was having trouble rationalizing it. “I know. I just need a minute.”</p><p>"<em> Okay, how about this. Let’s have you eat, then brush your teeth, have a shower, whatever you need to do, then we can talk about it, okay? </em>"</p><p>“Okay,” He agreed.</p><p>"<em> Okay. Talk to you soon. </em>"</p><p>Kei didn’t remember when Yamaguchi turned into the reliable dependable one, either, but that could’ve been him actively blocking that idea in his head. Day by day, Yamaguchi was getting way cooler than him. So after his morning (<em> It was almost 1 </em> ) routine set him straight ( <em> ha </em>) for the day, he called Yamaguchi back.</p><p>"<em> Hey, Tsukki. You ready? </em>"</p><p>“Yeah,”</p><p>"<em> Okay! Phase one of Plan Fooling Akiteru and Mama Tsukishima start! </em>"</p><p>“You named it?”</p><p>"<em> All successful plans need a good name! </em> ”<br/>“Maybe we should get a <em> good </em> name, then.”</p><p>“<em> Tsukki! </em>”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for reading! This is pretty canon aligned? I mean in the past anyway lmaoooo. But !! Thanks for reading! I'm gonna do my best to update and to keep going!<br/>Love, love, love!<br/>- Mango</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Tsukishima House</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kei and Yamaguchi come home! They settle easily into their old routine, but the nostalgia makes them all realize that wow, things have changed.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I am SO SORRY this took so long! Yo! What's up! I'm back! I have a lot of the third chapter planned and half of it written so it won't be more than a month the next time you see me. (shoutout to my beta reader you're the best!) I added some stuff after they read though so sorry if it's a little janked. Also, Yamaguchi has combined type ADHD (like me haha) just let me know if you need any in-depth explanation about it!! Also,, I fixed up a little plot in the first chapter so if you read the first chapter already I suggest another comb-through. Okay, here we go!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kei was honestly just grateful that they had a day (or if the universe was kind, two) to confer before Aki got home. His mother’s greeting warmed him, filling in a piece of him he’d forgotten was empty. He was a little late because <strike> he was crying when he had to say goodbye to his roommate </strike> unforeseen circumstances, but he made it back at six. The sun was barely even setting.</p>
<p>“My sweet Ke-Ke! My sweet baby!” She held his face, showering him with kisses, no doubt to mess with him. “Mama was so lonely!”</p>
<p>“Mama, stop,” he laughed, (barely) trying to peel himself away. As much as he loved adult autonomy, relying on his mom felt kinda nice. She gave him a final smooch on his forehead and ruffled his hair before grabbing his shoulders. </p>
<p>“Now, you, young man. Have a lot to tell me.”</p>
<p>Kei averted his eyes. “Akiteru told you?”</p>
<p>“Honey.” His mother scoffed, sitting down at the table and picking up her embroidery hoop. “Akiteru told everybody.”</p>
<p>Kei sighed, dragging a bin in through the door. This had just gotten a lot more complicated.</p>
<p>“Like, family-wise?”</p>
<p>“Me, your grandmother, your Aunt Mimi, your cousins.”</p>
<p>“Gramps?” he asked, pulling another in.</p>
<p>“No.”</p>
<p>“Friends?”</p>
<p>“Just his volleyball friends,” she muttered, adjusting the fabric. </p>
<p>Kei scoffed, grabbing the two bags left. “He needs a damn hobby.”</p>
<p>“He needs a damn girlfriend.” she joked.</p>
<p>“Mom!”</p>
<p>She laughed into her hand.</p>
<p>“It’s true! He turns 27 today. Even <em> you </em> got a boyfriend first!”</p>
<p>“What is ‘even you’ supposed to mean?” Kei objected, shooting his mother an offended look with crossed arms. </p>
<p>“No! I didn't mean,” his mother snickered. “Kei, I love you and you are my darling angel boy, but finding someone who can keep up with you is...”</p>
<p>“Impossible?” he offered, organizing his belongings in the living room.</p>
<p>“No,” she said, giving him a look. “I’m just glad you have someone who can, and who likes to. And more than that, I’m glad it’s Tadashi.”</p>
<p>He was not used to all this “boyfriend” business and the word actually made him feel a little embarrassed. But he was keeping it cool. Kei was keeping it cool because he was a cool and composed guy™. Not at all embarrassed or nervous or shaken, and especially none of those things because his best friend was now his fake boyfriend and <em> wow </em>, was this actually kind of a bad idea? He did feel a little guilty for lying to his mom, because generally he really tried his best to Not Do That. But technically, he lied to Akiteru, who told his mom. So it was his brother’s fault for spreading false information and not fact-checking.</p>
<p>“When is Tadashi coming home, by the way?”</p>
<p>Kei paused. It wasn’t any different, to hear them call him by his given name. They always had. Kei just wondered, suddenly. Would they be expected to call each other like that, now?</p>
<p>“I, uh, don’t know,” he filled up a cup of water. “He said he was in Miyagi, but I don’t know how close. He said he’d text me after he settled everything into his apartment. Should be soon, though.”</p>
<p>His mother smiled to herself, quietly embroidering.</p>
<p>“What are you working on?” he murmured, scootching his chair next to her and sitting down.</p>
<p>“A patch for your cousin’s jacket.”</p>
<p>“Which one?”</p>
<p>“Kaede.”He expected to feel more strange about it. About lying, about being fake, and about it being Yamaguchi, but he didn’t. He felt weird, he did, but he expected to feel weirder. He felt weird about feeling weird. He leaned his head on his mother’s shoulder, feeling strangely physical all of the sudden, and she leaned her head back.</p>
<p>“Are you okay? I know you really liked your roommates. And your teammates, too.”</p>
<p>“I don’t know,” he responded honestly, wringing his hands in his lap. “I just feel weird about it.”</p>
<p>He felt weird about things that weren’t Yamaguchi, too. Like how he was supposed to just pack his whole college life up and go back home. Not that he hated being at home, he just liked being at college. </p>
<p>“It’s not that I don’t want to be home, but I just like the feeling of having my own space.” he mumbled, wringing his hands tighter. "I just like being in control of my own space. And being on my own time. I sound like a control freak?"</p>
<p>“You're not. You don't sound like one. It’s normal to want to be autonomous. Your space is an important part of your headspace and it’s okay if it feels like your room here might not be enough.” she assured. “You don’t have to stay at home with me. Or visit all the time; Aki only does because he knows I get lonely.”</p>
<p>“And cause he has nothing to do.”</p>
<p>His mother laughed, agreeing. “And cause he has nothing to do.” </p>
<p>His phone buzzed against his leg and he pulled it out of his pocket.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> &gt;&gt;Finished settling in! On my way to come see you now! \(^o^)/  </em>
</p>
<p>Kei smiled. His use of old emoticons instead of stickers was absolutely adorable.</p>
<p>
  <em> Be ready for a big hug! We gotta make it believable! </em>
</p>
<p>He followed up, with another barrage of cutesy emoticons. </p>
<p><em> &lt;&lt; </em> <b> <em>You just want to hug me.</em> </b></p>
<p>
  <em> &gt;&gt;It’s been four months!! I deserve it!! </em>
</p>
<p>&lt;&lt;<b> <em>You’re too excited.</em> </b></p>
<p> </p>
<p>He chuckled quietly. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t excited, too. He hadn’t seen Yamaguchi in four entire months. It was so weird. Usually, they found a way to meet up at least once a month (if worst came to worst, two), but both of their semesters were just too busy they hadn’t managed to.</p>
<p>“What is it?”</p>
<p>“Yamaguchi’s on his way,” he stood, sipping some more of his water.</p>
<p>“He’s coming over?” she smiled wide. “Oh, I can’t wait to give the embarrassing mom speech.”</p>
<p>“He’s heard plenty of embarrassing mom speeches on the friendship level, I don’t think he needs any more,” Kei said with a fake eyeroll. </p>
<p>“Oh, we’re gonna have so much to talk about,”</p>
<p>He put his shoes on, opening the door.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Mom."</em>
</p>
<p>“Okay, okay, I-”</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <b>"Tsukkiiiiiiiiiii!!"</b>
  </em>
</p>
<p>Kei turned to see Yamaguchi, lively as can be, running straight toward him. </p>
<p>Wow! </p>
<p>Kei’s body moved on its own, facing towards him, arms outstretched.</p>
<p><em>"I missed you, Tsukki!!</em>” Yamaguchi cheered, jumping right into his arms.</p>
<p>Kei laughed, using the momentum Yamaguchi had to spin him around (obviously because he would’ve fallen if he hadn’t and it made them look more believable and definitely not because he wanted to).</p>
<p>“Hey!” he laughed too, squeezing the shorter man, who was hugging him with every available limb.</p>
<p>He expected to feel weird about this, too, but he didn’t. He chalked it up to feeling particularly touchy today and smiled against Yamaguchi’s shoulder.</p>
<p>“Tsukki! It’s been forever!" Yamaguchi leaned back in the embrace to look down at him, touching all the things he shouted about. "And your hair! And your glasses! The detail on the sides looks so cool!!!” </p>
<p>"You just facetimed me. You've seen all this before." Kei said through a grin, sinking back into his hip to hold him comfortably.</p>
<p>"Yeah, but it's different in person." He murmured, absolutely enthralled with his hair. He opened his mouth to say something else, but looked past Kei's head, gasping loudly.</p>
<p><em>"MAMA!!"</em> he dropped from Kei and ran to hug his mother.</p>
<p>“Wow,” he said in disbelief, faking offense. "So quick to move on."</p>
<p>“She treats me better than you anyway," he muttered, still holding onto her. "Oh, mama!! I missed you so much! I’m so happy to see you!”</p>
<p>"Don't bother," Kei said, joining them at the table, setting his chin in his hand. "She'd never go for you."</p>
<p>"Please. I am a catch and she knows this. Right mama?" Yamaguchi defended, leaning his head down on hers. </p>
<p>"Absolutely," she agreed. Yamaguchi laughed and they hugged again. </p>
<p>Kei hadn't thought about it recently, but they'd always been close. Yamaguchi had been at his house for half of his life, so it was kind of bound to happen anyway. They'd never talked about it, mostly because it was family, and Yamaguchi was never really good at talking family. He pretty much knew the story, but there were still behaviors and complexes from his parents he was unpacking to this day that Kei wasn't sure how to help with. He watched as the two chattered amiably, lighting up the room. It was good to see he was well enough to do this. He'd previously been worried that Yamaguchi felt weird about it. Like his mother was trying to be too much of a mother to him or something. "Mother" was still a concept that he didn't know where Yamaguchi stood. He remembered talking to his mother about not pushing it, at least in his high school days, but watching them now, Kei was sure there were some times they had together where he wasn't present. Like they talked and figured out things on their own. It was nice. It felt nice, he thought. Before he knew it, they were all in the kitchen; Yamaguchi had his own embroidering hoop and was carefully choosing thread. This was probably Kei’s favorite Yamaguchi, sitting at the table, embroidering while rattling off about his most recent endeavor.</p>
<p>"Are you guys hungry? I was making soup before you came, so it should be done soon," his mother asked, getting up.</p>
<p>"Yes, please," Yamaguchi sang, pulling out a pastel pink color.</p>
<p>"What kind is it?" He mumbled, leaning chin in hand.</p>
<p>His mother made a face. "The kind you're gonna eat if you want dinner."</p>
<p>Yamaguchi snickered. He turned over his shoulder a little, to keep the conversation, but his eyes went to his embroidery hoop then and again. Kei just listened, humming and tapping along to the flow of their voices. It felt weird to be in his house again like this. They’d been apart for so long, and yet, in a matter of minutes, they were back to business as usual; cooking and joking and embroidering in the kitchen. He put his head down on his arms, letting the orange light of the sun coming in through the windows rest on his face. It felt good. Their words didn’t even register as words anymore, only as music to his suddenly restless ears. He felt a little neglected. Yamaguchi wasn’t even talking to him. Wasn’t Kei his fake boyfriend he hadn’t seen in forever? He sat back up, resting his chin in his hand and poked Yamaguchi's leg with his foot. There was no change in his face, so he did it again. Not even a twitch. He’d gotten really good at ignoring him when he was being a brat. So Kei, being the antagonistic little shit he was, upped his antics. He scooped up Yamaguchi’s foot, then let it drop.</p>
<p>“Tsukki,” Yamaguchi warned, not looking up from his work. </p>
<p>“Hm?” he asked, putting on his best oblivious voice and doing it again. It was fun, to be annoying again. He was a little brother after all; he was a pest by nature. He hadn’t been annoying for the hell of it in a while. His roommate was too sweet for him to even want to try and mess with her. He felt a twang in his chest. He should call her when he got settled.</p>
<p>“I have an actual needle. Which can be used as an actual weapon,” he threatened, still not taking his eyes away from the fabric.</p>
<p>“Do it, you won’t. No balls.”</p>
<p><em>"Kei!" </em>His mother turned around in the kitchen and Yamaguchi laughed. “I thought you’d two would be insufferable in a sweet way, but you’re insufferable in the same way, just worse.”</p>
<p>The two cracked themselves up. </p>
<p>“Anyway, I need carrots, so for that, you can go to the store for me and get some,” she turned back to her soup. “Tadashi, please go with him to make sure he doesn’t get lost.”</p>
<p>Kei sighed loudly, standing up to stretch. “The big pack or little pack?”</p>
<p>“The big one please~!” she sang as the two put their shoes on. “When you come back we’ll call Akiteru and sing him happy birthday.”</p>
<p>“I already called him, though.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, but we didn't call him together. We’ll be back soon!” Yamaguchi sang back.</p>
<p>“Be safe, boys!”</p>
<p>Kei walked out into the cool March evening, the beginnings of spring brushing past him in the breeze. </p>
<p>“Wow! The days are getting so warm! I feel like I could wear shorts!” Yamaguchi said, stretching his arms upwards.</p>
<p>“I don’t think I could. I'm a little cold.”</p>
<p>“Aren’t you kind of always cold, though? You have bad circulation.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I guess so.”</p>
<p>There was a short pause where the two just walked alongside each other, shoulder to shoulder. The sun had set already, so the noncommittal blue dimness of early evening was settling around them. It had been a while since he’d seen this scene. It was really pretty.</p>
<p>Yamaguchi bumped him, grinning like he was about to say something stupid. This was also a Yamaguchi that Kei liked, not quite his favorite, but definitely top 10. Goofy and on the cusp of doing something funny. </p>
<p>“Isn’t this almost like a date? Going to the conbini in the early evening? Should we steal a kiss behind the store?”</p>
<p>“Oh my god,” Kei rolled his eyes, scoffing. Yamaguchi cracked up. “You’ve been reading more shoujo manga, haven’t you?”</p>
<p>"This is gonna be fun. Like, I'm gonna be so embarrassing every day. This is the dream. Embarrassing Tsukishima Kei For Like… 30 Days."</p>
<p>"Shut <em>up </em>, oh my god. Please just be normal." Kei said, rolling his eyes. "I already have my brother."</p>
<p>“We’re the embarrassing duo!” Yamaguchi struck a pose, leaning back on an Akiteru that wasn’t there. </p>
<p>“What, are you Team Rocket?” Kei snorted. “Ask them both this or that! The pity of Tsukishima Kei is how they respond!”*</p>
<p>“That’s not how it goes!” he protested, shoving Kei as they approached the doors.</p>
<p>“How does it go then?” he rolled his eyes, grinning. Yamaguchi was definitely about to nerd out about Pokemon. (Another Yamaguchi in the top ten. No, this one was top five)</p>
<p>“<em>It goes </em> ‘If you ask us this or that...the pity of the world is what responds!’”</p>
<p>“Oh, I see,” he hummed, scanning the produce shelf. “I’m very sorry for incorrectly saying it. I hope you’ll forgive me.”</p>
<p>“To prevent the destruction of the world! To protect the peace of the world!” Yamaguchi continued, going back and forth between characters. The cashier, looking bored out of his mind, was sadly not Ukai or his nephew. He was, however, staring at them.</p>
<p>“Yamaguchi, the cashier is judging us.”</p>
<p>“To stand by the evils of love and truth! The lovely charmy villains: Musashi!” He pointed to Kei, absolutely confident that he would finish it.</p>
<p>Kei sighed, finding the bag he was looking for and picking it up. “Kojirou. The pair from team rocket soars through th-”</p>
<p>“Hey, I say that.” Yamaguchi interrupted, hovering in the chip aisle.</p>
<p>Kei gave him a look™. “I am not saying ‘<em> A white hole, and a white tomorrow awaits us. </em>’”</p>
<p>Yamaguchi only laughed. “You just did!”</p>
<p>They approached the counter, and Kei put the carrots on the counter.</p>
<p>“Good evening.” the bored cashier muttered, scanning it.</p>
<p>“Good evening~!” Yamaguchi sang. He was always one for greeting people in stores cheerfully. Kei did it to be polite, (mama ain’t raise no bitch) but Yamaguchi was always one for starting chats with them. He stared at the candy display by the register. There was a strawberry kit-kat he hadn’t seen in stock in the conbini before. He’d had it before, but it was a while ago. Should he get it? Would the cashier judge him even more? Not that he cared, but,</p>
<p>“Tsukki.” Yamaguchi elbowed him.</p>
<p>“Huh?” he blinked, zoning back in.</p>
<p>“Will that be all?” The cashier repeated, looking at him with an uninterested stare.</p>
<p>“Uh, this too, please,” he murmured, putting the candy bar on the counter.</p>
<p>“That’s 550 yen.”</p>
<p>Kei counted the exact change, handing it over.</p>
<p>“Thank you for your patronage. Have a great night.”</p>
<p>“Have a good night!” Yamaguchi sang, and they left the store.</p>
<p>It got dark faster than he thought. Winter was pretty much over, it was already March. Kei absentmindedly tore the wrapper of his KitKat open, thinking too hard about the weather.</p>
<p>“Eating candy before dinner? So naughty.” Yamaguchi covered his mouth like a gossiping school girl. “You better watch out, you know? I have a thing for bad boys.”</p>
<p>“Oh, yes,” Kei broke a piece off, handing one to Yamaguchi. “I think I’ll stay up past 9 and sneak my Gameboy Advance into school tomorrow.”</p>
<p>Yamaguchi hummed, swinging the bag. “Yeah, but will you, <em> pfft, </em>wait, Tsukki, do you remember that one time we did bring our Gameboys in though? In elementary?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, and you cried cause you thought we were gonna get arrested.”</p>
<p>“Hey!” Yamaguchi hip-checked him. “I said I like bad boys, not mean boys.”</p>
<p>“Why would you bring it up if you’re just gonna get embarrassed?”</p>
<p>“I just wanted to say ‘do you remember that one time!’ It’s the mood! The mood!”</p>
<p>“‘Mood?’ Are you coming onto me?” he joked, hip-checking him back.</p>
<p>“<em>Tsukki! </em>”</p>
<p>The rest of the night was filled with discussions of fake romance and planning within their skill-level of acting. They laid down a few rules, but since he’d grown up with Yamaguchi, it wasn’t like he was uncomfortable doing any of this. He found it kind of thrilling, actually. The thrill of hiding and pretending made him think it wouldn’t be as hard as he thought. Towards the end of their conversation, Yamaguchi interjected, looking troubled.</p>
<p>“I’m just...” He made a face, wringing his hands. “I guess I’m just worried...”</p>
<p>“W-what? What’s wrong?”</p>
<p>“I’m just worried that...you’ll see how great it is to date me and you won’t want to stop!” he fake-swooned with a funny voice, falling back dramatically onto his futon. “It’s practically impossible not to fall in love with me!”</p>
<p>Kei scoffed, giving him a look. “That will absolutely not happen.”</p>
<p>“Oh, but can’t you practically read it already? Cute muscle man and his tall lanky childhood friend fake date but actually fall in love before it ends! What will happen? Watch next time on The Channel for Cheesy Romance!” he joked, rolling around dramatically.</p>
<p>“Those stupid shoujo manga have rotted your head. I’m better than a stupid cliche.”</p>
<p>Yamaguchi made a noise. “Why are you always hating on cliches?”</p>
<p>“Because they’re stupid.”</p>
<p>“No,” Yamaguchi sat up, clearly about to preach. “Cliches are the backbone of most beloved literature. Just because a lot of popular media overuse them until they’re spoiled doesn’t mean it’s their fault! How bad a piece of art is lies back on the user, not the cliche. Cliches can be really nice if they’re done well. Like The Daydreamer Falls in Love! It exposed the bad overuse of cliche in other manga (especially with the main character) and made it real and realistic. Like, in just two chapters you go through so much and it makes you really feel for it, you know? I didn’t mean to go on, but...you know.” Yamaguchi smiled warmly, arms gesturing wildly. (He was clearly recalling the manga he was talking about.) “Cliches can actually be really nice when they’re done well.”</p>
<p>Kei blinked. He really liked that manga. “That was...kinda passionate,” he quoted, which was one of Yamaguchi’s favorite lines in the entire manga. (Yamaguchi talked about it all the time: “<em>It’s the subtleties of the line! It shows how he’s being drawn in and even though it’s just one line, it’s so sweet! </em>”)</p>
<p>“<em>Tsukki! </em>” he groaned, falling back on his futon again, kicking his feet up in the air.</p>
<p>“Anyway, I’m not the one in danger here. I’m tall and hot. Are you sure you won’t fall in love with me?” he joked, mimicking Yamaguchi’s swoon from earlier.</p>
<p>“I was there for all of your voice cracks and acne and that one time you busted your face when you fell off of your bike. There is no way.”<br/>“That hurt so bad, I thought I was going to die.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>Kei was sort of excited to see his brother, despite him being a gossipy little bitch that told everyone he knew about “Kei-chan and his new boyfriend.” He decided that he would try to be more social the first few days he was at home. And he wasn’t going to be a complete asshole to his brother. Especially since his birthday was a few days ago and he wasn’t able to make it home, then. After everyone got used to having him home, though, he was definitely doing whatever he wanted in his own room. That being said, they easily fell into each others’ orbits; minutes after Akiteru came home, they were like normal, just sitting in the kitchen talking. He just supposed that’s how family was. </p>
<p>“Did you hear about the ramen shop around the corner?”</p>
<p>“Hm?” </p>
<p>“They had to close to stop the spread,” Aki frowned. “I feel so bad.”</p>
<p>“That’s so terrible! I hope the family that runs it will be okay,” Yamaguchi made a worried face (this was a Yamaguchi that he was not particularly fond of) nervous hands working his fabric. He was repairing a button on his shirt. Kei could watch him embroider for hours, and at this point, since they were in the middle of pandemic and had to self-quarantine, he probably was going to “I hope so, too. They’re good people.” </p>
<p>“Yeah, I remember. They gave us free bowls on match days. I wish we could’ve gone.”</p>
<p>“The festival, too,” Kei grumbled, laying his head down on his arms. “I wish we could’ve seen that, too.”</p>
<p>“In Shiogama?” Aki made a face. “I didn’t think you’d want to see it so bad.”</p>
<p>“You don’t get it cause you’re straight,” Kei squinted at his brother, making a face back.</p>
<p>“Wh-how does that make sense?’” he argued, putting his book down.</p>
<p>“It’s a whole bunch of big muscley dudes carrying this heavy ass mikoshi. They’re literally doing nothing but flexing. Of course I want to see it.”</p>
<p>Yamaguchi made an offended noise. “I am right here.”</p>
<p>“Sorry, Yamaguchi.”</p>
<p>“Sound more sincere!” he grumbled, folding his shirt and putting it on the table. “So unfaithful.”</p>
<p>“I am so sincerely sorry, Yamaguchi-san.”</p>
<p>“Shut up, Tsukki.” He hip-checked Kei in the side. “I kind of have been slacking off, lately, since I can’t go to the gym, so now I’m a little insecure...” he muttered, rolling his sleeves up and inspecting his biceps. Kei did a double-take. Yamaguchi tended to wear long sleeves anyway, and since it was still a little chilly out, he had been. But in the house, he wore a t-shirt. A baggy t-shirt that did not suit what he had to work with, because <em> Jesus </em> , when had he gotten like <em> that </em>? </p>
<p>“See? Squeeze.” He flexed his bicep at Kei, looking disappointed. “Maybe I should be more like the bodybuilders you like so much, since I’m out of shape.”</p>
<p>“<em> That’s </em>out of shape?” Kei blurted in surprise, feeling the dense muscle under his hand. “Why are you insecure?”</p>
<p>“I never thought I’d see the day where little Tadashi’s muscles would be bigger than mine,” Aki said, defeated.</p>
<p>Kei sneered evilly at him, not letting go of Yamaguchi. “Yeah! My boyfriend may be almost a whole head below me, but he can flex his sleeves off.”</p>
<p>“Things really have changed.” Aki mourned.</p>
<p>“People think a lot of things have changed, but really nothing has changed, <em> right Tsukki </em>?” Yamaguchi said shakily with a nervous smile.</p>
<p>Kei blinked, staring up at him. Oh. He was getting ahead of himself. They were going to be lovey and touchy to some extent to be believable; that was one of the rules they established. But another rule that they’d set was that if either of them got too out of hand or things got uncomfortable, then they’d let each other know. And right now, Kei had gotten out of hand.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” he let go of Yamaguchi’s arm with a pat. He rolled his sleeve down, but Kei didn’t miss the blush on his face. It was endearing when Yamaguchi got embarrassed. Since he grew up to be so confident, it was rare he was nervous.</p>
<p>“Anyway, white’s day is coming up,” he announced, giving Yamaguchi an expectant look.</p>
<p>Yamaguchi made a noise, turning around confrontationally. “Why do I have to be the one to give you stuff on white’s day?”</p>
<p>“Because you’re...well…you know. Some would say you’re the g-”</p>
<p>“<em> Oh </em> , my <em> god </em>Tsukki, shut up!” Yamaguchi blurted, pushing Kei and hiding his face.</p>
<p>This was a Yamaguchi he liked. Nervous and red in the face, too embarrassed to turn and look at them. Luckily for them, Aki was stupid and the joke went right over his head.</p>
<p>“Wha-? Oh,” he looked at his phone and stood. “Landlord finally texted me back. Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you guys. Don’t get too excited just cause mom’s out right now.” he joked, putting up peace signs before he walked out of the door.</p>
<p>“I’m also going home,” Yamaguchi groaned, looking absolutely tormented.</p>
<p>“Wait, no,” Kei laughed. “It was a joke! He didn’t get it anyway, so don’t leave, yet.”</p>
<p>“That part of you hasn’t changed.” Yamaguchi rolled his eyes, sitting back down. “Your personality hasn’t really changed, anyway.”</p>
<p>“Oh?” Kei put his chin in his hand. “What has changed, then?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know, not much. Mostly just your body, like you got taller and now you actually have meat on your bones.”</p>
<p>“Hey,” Tsukki wrinkled his nose, flicking him. He had filled out a little, but he was still a little on the lean side.</p>
<p>“It’s true!” Yamaguchi laughed. “You used to be like, so skinny. Li-oh,” his eye caught something behind Kei, who turned in confusion. It was a picture. Yamaguchi laughed again and shot up. Kei watched as he carefully lifted the magnet and brought it to the table. “See?” It was them at graduation. “You look like you’ve never lifted a thing in your life, ever. Like, not even a pencil.”</p>
<p>“I had a fast metabolism!” he defended. “Plus, working out sucks. Who would voluntarily make themselves run and sweat until their whole body burned?”</p>
<p>“You just don’t get it, Tsukki! It’s the fire! The fire! Working out feels great!”</p>
<p>“No way.”</p>
<p>“How did this happen, then?” he gestured vaguely to Kei. </p>
<p>“I had to, for volleyball.”<br/>“So if it’s for volleyball, you’d do it.” he confirmed with a chuckle, putting the picture back up with care.</p>
<p>“You say it like I’m stacked, or something. Look at you.”</p>
<p>“Well I actually like to, so of course I’m a little more compact than you. But it’s not like you’re tiny and wiry anymore, you’re like, solid. You look like a man, now, not a kid.”</p>
<p>“I haven’t looked like a kid since middle school.” he joked, tapping on the table.</p>
<p>“Please. Everyone always mistook you for an adult in high school cause you were tall, but it was in your face. You <em> did </em> look like a kid.”</p>
<p>“Well you still look like one, so,”</p>
<p>“Hey!”</p>
<p>He took a better look, openly staring at Yamaguchi’s face. It had squared out more than they were in high school, so he did look a little older, but he really still did look young. His eyes were bright and full of ambition, and the smattering of freckles across his face was a little faded (which was a damn shame) since winter was just closing up. He was seriously such a pretty boy, even with his hair cut short like it was, now. It had actually grown a little from when he first cut it a month ago, but it wasn’t as long as he used to keep it. But he was still Yamaguchi, even if he was all confident and mature.</p>
<p>“Well, not like a kid, but I guess more like a teenager? Like if someone told me you were still in high school I’d probably believe them.”</p>
<p>Yamaguchi made a face, flicking him back. </p>
<p>“<em> Anyway </em>,” he rolled his eyes. “The town has changed a little bit, they even built new stuff! There’s a bank down the street now! And the McDonalds! It looked so weird when I was coming through!”</p>
<p>“Yeah, on the other side, too, they built a new conbini.”</p>
<p>“Eh? I didn’t see it.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, they also tore down the house on the corner.”</p>
<p>“I saw that!” he grinned, patting his knee a few times in excitement. “I saw, and I was just wondering if they were gonna build a new house. It got me thinking about Animal Crossing and building houses and stuff. But! Hey, they also renovated my apartment complex, it looks really good, now. It’s grey, now.”</p>
<p>“I’ll have to come by and see it.”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Yamaguchi beamed. “You should definitely come check it out.”</p>
<p>And even though Kei stood almost whole head above Yamaguchi, he felt less adult next to him. As much as he joked about it, his overall demeanor changed. He was Yamaguchi, who was very pretty and composed; he had his ambitions and his own apartment and he just seemed very Together. And that was an undoubtedly cool thing about him, now.</p>
<p>“I guess I should sanitize my apartment, though. I disinfected everything of mine, though. And the only thing I’ve really taken out is my bedsheets and electronics.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, my mom’s kind of freaking out about it, too, so when you went home the other night I had to sanitize all the groceries she bought. Akiteru didn’t even help.”</p>
<p>“Pfft,” Yamaguchi fiddled with the stray fabric his mother had left on the table, (no doubt so Yamaguchi could use it).</p>
<p>“She keeps getting worried, though, about him coming to the apartment and back.”</p>
<p>Yamaguchi made a face.</p>
<p>“Should I st-” <br/>“No. I wasn’t saying it like that. She’s just worried.”</p>
<p>“I mean, rightfully so,” he started, fidgeting more. “It seems a little scary, now. They’re closing stuff, now, so.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, mom wants Nii-chan to move in, just so we can all be together and stuff. Just since he’s kind of far away.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, thirty minutes of travel feels like forever when all this is going on.” Yamaguchi’s demeanor changed slightly as he started to pick apart the fraying edge of the fabric.</p>
<p>“Everything will eventually be okay. I think it’ll blow over soon. Like swine flu or something. Anyway, let’s talk about something else.” </p>
<p>“Hm?”</p>
<p>“Oh, I was just saying about the Animal Crossing trailer,” he said fluidly, taking advantage of Yamaguchi’s temporary inattentive space-out. “I thought the music was cute.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, me too! I love all the characters show, too! They look so happy and cute. Plus the bugs look super real, like the cicada. I’m just excited about the museum. I’ll donate all my fossils so that you can see the dinosaurs.”</p>
<p>To be honest, he could probably listen to Yamaguchi talk about the trailer and his expectations for hours, and they got halfway there, but his phone started going off.</p>
<p>"Woah! It's already 6:30?! I've been here for 3 hours? Oh, man," he shot up from his chair, grabbing everything of his he could see. "I was supposed to, ugh, oh, no." He groaned, shaking his head. </p>
<p>"Hey, hey," he calmed, standing up to help him gather his things. "What's up? What do you have to do?"</p>
<p>"I was going to uh...um…" he shook his hand out, trying to verbalize his thoughts. Kei waited. "I had to, uh, hold on, sorry, okay, so it's like almost 7, I was going to start my essay at 6 and take a break to eat at 8 and start my physics lab and then I had to copy down my EES notes and that would probably take me until I fell asleep." He rubbed his face, bowing his head in frustration. "It's not your fault I just, ugh,"</p>
<p>"You just forgot. And that's okay. Do you need help with anything? I finished the work I had to do, so," Yamaguchi made a face like he needed help but didn't want to trouble him. "It's never a bother. To help out."</p>
<p>"I know," he took a breath, resetting his composure. "I know, but I just feel stupid. And I know I'm not, but I just feel like it lately. And then I feel stupid for feeling stupid. Like, that’s just so dumb."</p>
<p>"It’s not,” he murmured, rubbing his shoulder comfortingly. “I mean, no matter how smart I am, if my brain were actively trying to sabotage me I would feel stupid, too. So let’s sort this out. I’ll get my planner and we can get through this.”</p>
<p>The subtle drop of Yamaguchi’s shoulders made him a little relieved. He nodded, letting out a sigh.</p>
<p>“Okay. Yeah. It’s a good thing I brought my laptop.”</p>
<p>“Right? You’re so smart, Yamaguchi,” he hummed, walking to his room. “Do you wanna work at the table or my room? I don’t really mind going to your apartment, either, if that’ll help you focus.”</p>
<p>“N-no,” he said, holding his laptop to his chest. “I wanna work at the table.”</p>
<p>“Okay. We’ll do that,” he said, grabbing his planner off of his desk and they went to sit at the kitchen table to make a plan.</p>
<p>Kei couldn’t explain how, but helping Yamaguchi made him feel good. A thought floated by that it might be coming from a feeling of superiority, but didn’t hold onto that one for very long. (less than a second; he was a better friend than that.) The more he thought about it, he realized that doing anything for Yamaguchi felt good. He was also doing him a huge favor at the moment, so anything he could do he would. He liked to see a Yamaguchi that was composed and optimistic, so if it was something like planning and work, which he didn’t mind, Kei would do it. A confident and encouraged Yamaguchi was the one he liked to watch work best. He’d always been diligent, he was a natural hard-worker, and the fact that sometimes he had to work harder to do the same amount of work fired him up even more. Kei really liked that about him.</p>
<p>“I’m done,” Yamaguchi sang, stretching his arms; all of the frustration or heaviness from earlier had dissipated. “Intro and first two paragraphs done!”</p>
<p>“Wow! That was quick. Good job.” He praised, putting his phone down. “Do you wanna take a break?”</p>
<p>“Thanks, Tsukki!” he held up a peace sign. “And not really, I feel like I’m on a roll. If you wanna start making dinner that’s okay. Is mom done yet?”</p>
<p>He noted “mom” instead of the usual playful (and noncommittal) “mama” and tapped the table twice.</p>
<p>“Yeah. She gets off at 6:30.” He checked the clock. 7:14. “I’m gonna go check on her, though. Maybe I’ll make pasta. She got a lot from the grocery store last time.” </p>
<p>She was taking a nap, to Kei’s expectation, and apologized sleepily for not starting dinner.</p>
<p>“It’s okay. You don’t have to cook all the time. You don’t even have to cook at all. We can handle stuff like that if you’re that tired.”</p>
<p>“I’m not,” she protested. “Yesterday and today at work were both very long and exhausting. There are more patients being admitted, so there’s more paperwork and that’s all me, so,” she took his hand, squeezing it gently. “You don’t have to worry about me, I’m just a little tired today.”</p>
<p>His mother looked more than a little tired, but he let it go.</p>
<p>“What do you want to eat?” he took her other hand, squeezing them both. “If it’s making dinner and washing the dishes, I can at least do that.”</p>
<p>She smiled up at him. “If you insist, then, I just want pasta and red sauce.”</p>
<p>“Then that’s what I’ll make.”</p>
<p>It was a calm night in the Tsukishima residence, with Yamaguchi typing away until dinner was done, and all of them sitting in the living room watching a comedy show together. It was peaceful. There was something about your loved ones eating a meal that you made for them (no matter how simple it was) and just being together that Kei did admit to himself he missed.</p>
<p>And as his mother leaned on him and Yamaguchi shook his leg beside him, despite the fact that he’d caused an entire mess, for a second, <em> just a second </em>, Kei missed his brother.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for reading! I'll be back soon!<br/>* The team rocket chant is different in Japanese here it is:<br/>Musashi (Jessie): If you ask us this or that...<br/>Kojirō (James): The pity of the world is what responds! (the pity of Tsukishima haha)<br/>Musashi: To prevent the destruction of the world!<br/>Kojirō: To protect the peace of the world!<br/>Musashi: To stand by the evils of love and truth!<br/>Kojirō: The lovely, charmy villains!<br/>Musashi: Musashi!<br/>Kojirō: Kojirō!<br/>Musashi: The pair from Team Rocket soars through the galaxy!<br/>Kojirō: A white hole, a white tomorrow awaits us! (I..........what does this even mean)<br/>Nyarth: Something like that!<br/>Anyway! Thanks again for reading and see y'all soon!<br/>-Mango</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Miss Rona</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Quarantine is very hard. Even Kei, who is Smarter Than The Average Bitch, is struggling to write an essay, but Yamaguchi can fix that too.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>wow so ive committed to my update schedule and-oh my fucking god it's july. hey yall im so sorry a lot happened and wow,,,,but i am back! so im gonna try to finish this because im working on a god au idek if i will share. anyway here's some shitty writing but thank you for reading!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Oh, that reminds me. Did you hear anything back from Sendai-shi?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” he complained, stirring the oatmeal powder into the green tea and honey. “I don’t know what to do, because they said they’d keep in touch, but I haven’t got an e-mail since.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you just have to be patient, honey. There </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> a global crisis going on right now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, but they could at least let everyone know. It’s just a quick e-mail,” he muttered, putting on his headband and smearing the mixture onto his face. No matter how many times he did it, it always felt weird.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kei,” his mother turned from the stove, giving him a look. It didn’t last long, though, because she couldn’t resist laughing. “I’m sorry, you just, </span>
  <em>
    <span>pfft</span>
  </em>
  <span>, wait, let me get my phone.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Mom,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he groaned. Kei had always taken good care of his skin, but he hadn’t really gotten into facemasks until Yachi had brought it up during a Karasuno sleepover in their third year. Since then, he’d fallen into it, and his roommate, Akinyi, had always loved doing them too. He made them once a week, as a treat during his stressful times. Yachi would always say, “A clear and rejuvenated face is a clear and rejuvenated spirit!” Akinyi, of course, loved that. Now that he thought about it, he wondered if those two stayed in touch. He should really call her soon.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His mother returned with her phone, giggling as she snapped a few pictures with Kei and his green face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you want some too?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It wouldn’t suit me,” she said, laughing, setting a bowl of vegetables in front of him to peel. “You really put the frog in Sendai frogs.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei laughed, closing out of his e-mails to see that Yamaguchi had texted him back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Let’s video call!!!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Ok.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Was all he texted back, putting his phone on the counter and calling him. He turned his video off, though. He didn’t need Yamaguchi cracking jokes at him, too. His mother didn’t need encouragement like that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He joined quickly, his smile lighting up the screen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Hey, Tsukki-oh</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” he brought the phone close to his face, squinting in confusion. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>I can’t see you.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s cause I turned my camera off. I’m ugly right now. I don’t want my </span>
  <span>boyfriend</span>
  <span> to see me like this.” he hoped Yamaguchi caught the stress he put on boyfriend, since that, too, was a rule they had. If they were on speaker while on the phone or video chatting when someone else was around, then they would say something obvious so that the other person knew without them directly saying “oh, my mom is right here, too, so don’t accidentally say something that might give us away.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Well, your </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>boyfriend</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> never thinks you’re ugly, so,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he responded, rolling his eyes and putting his chin in his hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei hesitantly turned on the camera, leaning over his phone so he could be seen. “Hey.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yamaguchi blinked, bringing the phone close to his face in confusion again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Huh? Tsukki, are you there? All I see is a lizard on the screen...</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ugh,” Kei rolled his eyes, turning the camera off again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Nooooo!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Yamaguchi laughed, pulling back the camera to show his laughing face. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>No, I’m sorry please come back!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei ignored him for a few seconds, peeling his carrots in fake anger.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Tsukki, I’m sorry, I wanna see your face,</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He turned the camera back on, propping his phone up against the water bottle on the table.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>There he is! There’s my handsome dinosaur boy!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei flushed, rolling his eyes. He was an adult. He shouldn’t get so worked up about being called handsome. “Shut up, Yamaguchi. You’re stupid.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>My handsome Sendai frog!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s what I said!” his mom shouted in excitement from across the counter. “Kei, tell him that’s what I said!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He can hear you, mom.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Same brain, mama!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Yamaguchi giggled. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>So what did you do today?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Worked on Sugawara-san’s song some more.” Sugawara-san sent him a song to mix (“Whenever you can! I’ll pay you well, Tsukishima-kun!! ;P”) and the majority of his day had been emailing him about preferences. He actually made some recommendations and added a few little background lines.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh yeah!! I can’t wait to hear it when it’s done! What are you doing right now</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Peeling carrots. We’re having teriyaki stir-fry tonight.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Invite him over! He can eat dinner with us!” his mom said from the fridge excitedly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He can hear you, mom. But, yeah, if you’re not busy.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m on my way!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he shot up, the video shaking as he (probably) put his shoes on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not finished yet, it’s barely started,”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I’ll help, then.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he put on his mask. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>If you don’t work, you don’t eat! That’s what my mom used to say, anyway.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei let out an involuntary “ugh” sound at the mention of his mother.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Tsukki,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he warned, plodding down the stairs and onto the sidewalk.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? I was just breathing!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>That was an exhale of annoyance and you know it.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It was an exhale of disgust, actually,” he muttered under his breath, plopping the peeled carrot in the bowl. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You really can’t act like an adult already?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? It’s not my fault she’s a vengeful bitch!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kei! Watch your mouth!” His mother scolded, hitting him over the head as she passed by him to get to the spice cabinet. “Don’t call people’s mothers bitches.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He heard Yamaguchi “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Kekekekeke,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” from his phone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is she not?” he asked his mother, gesturing annoyedly with the peeler in his hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She pursed her lips, trying to find words and then turned back to the bowl she was mixing seasonings in. “I’m not indulging that line of thought.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei laughed, turning to the phone again. “See? She is!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I didn’t say she wasn’t. I’m just saying we shouldn’t say it out loud. If we talk about her too much she’ll appear and kill us or something.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So she’s an urban legend horror, now?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yeah, and I want to at least graduate college before I die.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His mother snorted from the counter, shoulders shaking as she hunched over the bowl.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sendai-shi still hasn’t contacted me. I’m answering every call I get, so I got like three telemarketers today.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yamaguchi laughed loudly. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Really? That sucks!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. It really sucks, and now they keep calling me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t say ‘it sucks.’” his mother scolded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, so it’s fine if Yamaguchi says it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” she answered stubbornly. “He gets 10 bad language passes every day.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How many do I get?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“None.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? That’s not fair!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Wahahahahaha! Tsukki, come open the door for me!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s open!” his mother called.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yamaguchi ended the call, opening the door, and singing “</span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m home!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Welcome back.” Kei and his mother chimed in unison. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, so what do I need to do?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“First, go wash your hands,” his mom said sternly. “Then come back and get your apron on and we can get to work.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just don’t let him near anything remotely warm. He’s a disaster at cooking.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not a disaster! I can at least chop vegetables!” he yelled from the bathroom, stomping out and messing up Kei’s hair. “Besides, isn’t it time to rinse your face already?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh? This is permanent. My skin will be clear like this, that’s what the website said.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yamaguchi blinked, looking at him in confusion. Kei grinned, and he finally got it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop joking! You actually had me for a second!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What, would you guys still love me if I was green in the face?” He stood, mussing Yamaguchi’s hair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” he said honestly, putting an apron on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Me neither,” his mother added.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Both of your answers should be yes!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yamaguchi and his mom only laughed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Go rinse your face so we can start already.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bold words for someone who just got here,” he teased, leaning close to his face and scrunching up his nose. Yamaguchi scrunched up his nose back, poking his forehead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rinse. Your face.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He rolled his eyes, turning and walking to the bathroom. After rinsing, he dried it and gave himself a once over in the mirror. He’d been doubtful at first back then, but even now, he really did seem to glow after a face mask. Would it be vain to take a picture? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Who cares?</span>
  </em>
  <span> He thought, rolling his eyes. Kei took a picture if he felt like it and that was that. He pulled his phone out, snapping a few, putting his hand in his hair, on the counter, making a peace sign. Akinyi would appreciate them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Are you posting those?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He jumped, turning to see Yamaguchi peeking in the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You're so sneaky, oh my god," he muttered. "But yeah, maybe. I don't know if they came out good." His heart thudded in embarrassment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I wanna take some too," he pushed him in, standing and posing in the mirror next to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei took a few and Yamaguchi posed ridiculously, as he did. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Let's take a for real one." He stood on his toes, putting his hands on Kei’s shoulder and smiling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei snapped a few, leaning down so he wouldn’t have to go on his toes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Smile!” he tugged on his shoulder. “You never smile in any of your pictures.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“It’s not my aesthetic.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re annoying,” he laughed, wrapping his arms around his waist.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei grinned, tossing his arm over Yamaguchi’s shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just one, then,” he gave in (pretty easily, like usual.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yay!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ready?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yamaguchi nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei took this one more carefully, making sure the angle was good and nothing looked out of place.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wanna see it, I wanna see it, I wanna see it!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pfft, what?” he leaned in, holding his phone for him to see, too. He liked this Yamaguchi a lot. Overexcited about a picture they’d taken a billion times before (every phone and camera they’d ever owned were all filled with each other) just because he finally smiled for one. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“See? You look so nice when you smile. Your Sendai Fangirls will go crazy if you post it.” He said with an eye roll. “They’ll go into cardiac arrest.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What, are you jealous?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yamaguchi scrunched up his nose, looking at the sink instead of him. “No,” he said very defensively for the joking tone Kei’d just set. Which meant he probably was. Just entertaining the idea was enough for the corners of his mouth to tug up into a grin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes</span>
  </em>
  <span>, oh my god, you’re so annoying</span>
  <em>
    <span>,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he groaned, pulling away and stomping out of the bathroom.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei snickered, following him back into the kitchen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why are you laughing at me? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ugh</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I’m blocking you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook his head, sitting down at his vegetable peeling station. He was too easy to read.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just think it’s silly for you to be jealous when you’re also in the picture. I think they’ll get the hint.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The hi-oh you mean,” he looked quickly to his mother, who pinched his nose.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Relationship doubts already?” she teased. “Well, it’s no use worrying, Tadashi. His heart has been yours for more than a decade.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei’s jaw dropped in shock. She needed to stop playing around so much.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Mom!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” she said defensively, putting her hand on her hip. “You act like you didn’t make heart eyes at him from day one. I have pictures to prove-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Mom!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he cut her off. “What are you talking about?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was easy for Yamaguchi to laugh off (which he did) but it was at Kei’s expense, so of course he was going to react. It wasn’t like what she said what was true. His mother loved to embellish. When she was told something, she liked to pretend she knew all along or that she wasn’t surprised or whatever. She was just doing that this time. So why were his ears burning?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you going to keep peeling that carrot or what? I have to chop it eventually.” Yamaguchi teased lightly, kneeing him in the thigh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t get cocky. I’ll post those mirror selfies and make you read the comments.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He scrunched up his nose for the billionth time and slid his cutting board next to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Blocked.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You’re</span>
  </em>
  <span> blocked.” he retorted, leaning his head against his arm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He couldn’t see, but he could definitely tell Yamaguchi was smiling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Kidzukeba itsudemo soba ni iru keredo. Honto wa kirai? Suki? Mousou na no?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> he started singing to himself, absolutely to annoy Kei, because he’d rewatched Ouran High School Host Club recently (How he’d both read and watched it in two days, Kei would never know). The opening was the most catchy in the worst ways and stayed inside his head for weeks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh my god,” he interjected, which only encouraged him to sing louder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Jibun no kimochi ga clear ni mietara. Lady demo host demo kamawanai yo.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He laughed a little and when his mom joined in, he knew that they were planning to sing the rest of it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Suki ni natteku, riyuu wa minna,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> his mother sang into a spatula and Yamaguchi sang into the handle of his paring knife, pointing to Kei expectantly. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Chigau yo ne kedo-</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Maybe you’re my love,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Kei gave in (he was doing a lot of that lately) singing along with them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Aitai ima yasashii kimi ni sakura kiss tokimeitara ranman koi shiyo!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yamaguchi had definitely become a mood changer, too. They were back to being goofy and singing and dancing in the kitchen, but for some reason, Kei couldn’t forget the burning of his ears.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>It was kind of a shit day. Kei went to bed at three, woke up at eight, and had been working on his essay since. His head hurt, and he’d forgotten that he had a mini assignment for his Advanced History of Archaeology class. Well, he was glad that his professors were understanding. They were lenient about deadlines and weren’t grading as harshly if the quality of work dropped a bit. Kei never had serious trouble sitting down and doing work (“</span>
  <em>
    <span>you lucky ass</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Yamaguchi always said) but lately, it felt like his mind was elsewhere and he had to try harder to rein it in. He was isolationist in nature, but maybe this quarantine was getting to him, too. March was halfway through and the situation was only escalating. It’s not that he couldn’t go on walks or anything, but the feeling of being home put him in the wrong space to do his work. Maybe a break was in order. He was still working on Sugawara-san’s project, so maybe doing that again could help him. He was about half-done with it. But even that needed brainpower that he just didn’t have. He tried to recall how he did work in high school, trying to kickstart his productivity, but it wasn’t very effective; he mostly did his homework in class, and when he studied it was always with Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi. Maybe if he was here.  Now that he thought about it, he was most productive with not always music or white noise, but Yamaguchi noise. Rambling, or videogame noises, or laughing while watching a video. That was probably why he could do work wherever he wanted in their apartment back at college. Akinyi was similar in that way, she rambled and played videogames on the T.V. in their living room (it was barely one; it was an apartment just off campus for students.) He took his glasses off of his face, rubbing his eyes. He should really call her. He grabbed his planner and wrote it in for tomorrow. Maybe he should put it in his phone’s calendar, too. As soon as he went to pick up his phone, though, it started buzzing. Yamaguchi was calling him. He instantly picked up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, what’s up?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hi, Tsukki, are you home? Haha, I don’t know why I asked that, obviously you are. Where else would you be? There’s a global fucking pandemic going on!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei raised his eyebrows. He sounded pretty pissed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, hey. Are you okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Can I come over? Or you come over here? Or we just go on a walk or whatever? Sorry if you’re doing something, it’s okay if the answer is no, I just need-I uh, I don’t want to be alone right now. I won’t be long.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. Yeah, of course,” he said, standing up and tidying his room up. It had gotten actually a little messy since he hadn’t been over in a few days. He found Yamaguchi’s switch in the sea of clothes on the floor he’d just shoved in the hamper. So that was where it’d been. “Let’s go on a walk. It’ll be good to get some sun. Hold on, give me a second.” He picked up his switch, putting it in his bag. He put his laptop and notebook into his bag, too. Maybe after he was consoled, he could get some work done. It was a nice day. He opened his mom’s door and quietly told her “I’m going to see Yamaguchi.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” She nodded absently, not looking away from her computer. She seemed like she was getting worse, too. Her hours had been extended. He made a mental note to make sure she ate lunch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So do you want me to come pick you up or-” he put his phone in the crook of his shoulder, opening the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Actually, I’m alre</span>
  </em>
  <span>ady here</span>
  <em>
    <span>.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” He’d barely opened the door (seeing him looking more than a little pissed) and Yamaguchi walked right into him, making an undiscernible grumble noise. Kei brought his arms up around his shoulders, patting a 3 over 4 polyrhythm on his back. He usually waited for Yamaguchi to talk first, but he felt jumpy and impatient all of a sudden.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you wanna come in for a minute before we go out?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like a yes, but didn’t have any intention of moving. Kei smiled to himself and </span>
  <span>dragged Yamaguchi</span>
  <span> walked them back to his room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you wanna sit on the floor?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He mumbled something that sounded similar to a no, which was surprising, because if given a choice to sit on the bed, a chair, or the floor, the answer was almost most definitely the floor, or if presented, on the table. He was barely holding himself up, and he was sniffling a little, so Kei figured he had to do some expert work.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh no! Yamaguchi has gone boneless! What do we do? Will he turn into a jellyfish? Or perhaps an anemone?” He switched characters, tossing Yamaguchi over his shoulder. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>I firmly believe that if this bonelessness continues any longer, he will turn into an invertebrate-esque being.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yamaguchi still continued his wordless grumpiness and Kei flopped him on the bed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do we need to do the song? I think we need to do the song.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He heard a small “</span>
  <em>
    <span>ffff</span>
  </em>
  <span>”. Yamaguchi hid his face, but he could see under his arm that there was a slight grin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, the sure-fire way to make someone smile? It’s to use the Official Mama Tsukishima Kanako Method Of Cheering Up!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t sit up, but he moved his arms away from his face, trying to keep his frown.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tsukki,” he said, like Kei was being ridiculous.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yamaguchi,” he said back just as sternly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yamaguchi huffed, sitting up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>To make someone smile we give them lots of love,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” He sang, ruffling his hair. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>To make someone better, we give them lots of hugs!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” He hugged him tightly. Yamaguchi laughed. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>To make someone happy, we show them we care. So cheer up, cheer up, cheer up! Everything will..?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he pulled away, looking at him expectantly. Yamaguchi was smiling now, even if he was still sulking a little bit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Be okay,” he said in a small reluctant voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Spoken word is unacceptable, sorry, I don’t make the rules.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yamaguchi sighed and rolled his eyes, even though he couldn’t stop himself from smiling. He took a deep breath sang back: “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Everything will be okay.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>That’s right</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he grinned, holding his arms out. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Now give one more.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yamaguchi leaned in, hugging him back this time. Yamaguchi liked physical affection when he was upset. He couldn’t remember a single time when he was angry or sick or sad where he didn’t want a hug when Kei asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I like it better when your mom does it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow,” Kei scoffed, pulling out of the hug. “I did the whole thing and that’s what you say to me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” Yamaguchi laughed, rocking. He put a hand on Kei’s arm, smiling sincerely. “Thank you, Tsukki.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He narrowed his eyes, joking: “You like when my mom does it because she kisses your forehead at the end.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He made a face and pushed Kei, who collapsed backward onto his pillow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now my mood is even sourer than before. I know I don’t have a chance.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He chuckled, looking up at him over his pillow. The running gag of Yamaguchi being in love with his mother never really got old.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you want to talk about it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A troubled expression passed Yamaguchi's face and he took a big breath. He reached behind him and grabbed the ankylosaurus figurine on Kei's desk, then put his legs up on the bed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's really nothing, so, I don't know why it's bothering me."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"If it's bothering you, then it's not nothing," he said easily, pulling Yamaguchi's legs into his lap.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pressed his lips together, taking another breath through his nose.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"My professor is just being kind of an asshole? I don't know, I'm just trying to get an extension on the first part of the final project, but he's being really strict about it and totally not understanding at all. He even put in his last e-mail- hold on, let me find it." He put down Ankle (that's what 8-year-old Yamaguchi had decided to name it) to pull out his phone. Kei tapped a five against four polyrhythm on his shins while he waited. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah, okay, so, he emailed me: 'This is a tough time for us all, but you still have your responsibilities as a student. You are a senior, so I expect you to adhere to the deadlines as a senior would. You’ve known about this project since day one of class and you’ve had three days to complete part one of the assignment, and I think that is more than enough. I understand that this is a stressful situation, but again, you still have academic responsibilities. If there’s anything else I can do, please do not hesitate to tell me.’” Yamaguchi dropped his phone, raising his eyebrows and blinking twice. “What the fuck am I supposed to do with that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei made a face. “I’m about to go beat your professor’s ass.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right? Like what the fuck! I’ve been talking to Kana-chan, too,” (Dr. Kanade Mitsuru, the head of Student Disabilities Services) “I called him on the way here and he sent an e-mail right when we were on the phone, but we’ve talked about that professor before and he just is always an asshole about it. Like, this shit hits people with disabilities and mental illness really hard, you know? It’s not like we can just be like ‘oh, well I gotta stop my whole life so I can do a fucking advanced physics and engineering project!’ I have other classes, too! Plus I just lost my job since I can’t go to other peoples’ houses now!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He noticed that Yamaguchi was picking at the skin at his knuckles, so he unconsciously put Ankle back in his hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s so bullshit, though. What does he not understand? You and Kana-chan and him have had meetings before.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He doesn’t understand that I’m a 21-year-old college student with fucking ADHD who is stressed out because I’m confined to a small ass apartment by myself and if I come here I feel like I’m wasting time and if I stay there, it’s so quiet I feel like I’m gonna choke, but who cares, right? He’s probably on one of his four yachts.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is he rich?” he asked, trying to unravel the wasting time comment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Enough for me to be confused about why he’s teaching at my school and not being a James Bond villain.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei chuckled. “It’s his superiority complex. I bet he’s one of those teachers who is proud to say only like...ten people pass his class a year.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Spot on. Spent like, an entire hour bragging about it on the first day. I almost stood up and yelled ‘That means you’re a bad teacher!!’ And it turns out I was right.” he laughed, rubbing his knuckles over the dinosaur’s head. It was a familiar gesture to him, and somehow it made him nostalgic. Now that he thought about it, the ankylosaurus had kind of become an item of comfort to Yamaguchi. He recalled several billion moments (most years old) where a frustrated Yamaguchi sat in his room and rubbed his knuckles over its bumpy head and poked the spikes of its tail while he talked. It was also a way to gauge how much he'd changed. The figurine could comfortably stand in his flat hand, whereas before, he’d used both hands and clutch it to his chest. Yamaguchi’s hands had always been kind of small. He had a squarish hand with long, delicate fingers, and no matter how muscle-y he got, his hands would always have this airy kind of elegance about them. His mother had called them piano hands, and though Yamaguchi quit piano lessons after middle school, Kei always kind of thought of them that way. He liked the way they looked playing piano. He liked the way they looked playing guitar (he picked it up for a month or two back in junior year of college) and bass (last semester) and any other instrument he would play (and then later abandon, but that was just on ADHD.) He’d probably actually give ten thousand yen to see him play guitar again, but that wasn’t something he should be thinking about at the moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I should probably get back to work soon, though, just in case Kana-chan doesn’t pressure him into giving me an extension. Thanks for cheering me up.” He set Ankle back on the desk, taking his legs back. Was he really leaving so soon? An unsettling feeling made him squirm a little. Was him coming here wasting his time? Should they just not see each other until they were done with the semester? That was a thought Kei couldn’t handle, although he’d been doing it for the past four months.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um,” he said, putting his hand on Yamaguchi’s. “You always have a place here, so...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And I know it feels like it’s time you should be spending on your project, but it’s not a waste of time. Humans are social creatures. You need to spend time with people. You need to spend time with us. Plus I know accountability helps, so you can do your work here, too, if you want.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t keep relying on you forever, Tsukki,” he laughed, fiddling with his hand. Why was he so apprehensive? He was one of them. Even his extended family considered him a part of the family.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can, though? It’s fine if you do.” he said seriously, squeezing Yamaguchi’s hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He only blinked, staring blankly back at him. “W-what?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m saying that I’ll be here for you. And if you need to stay here, for however long, you can.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, no!” he flustered. “I couldn’t do that. I don’t want to impose or-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can’t impose; you’re family,” he said immediately. “Or if you need me to come stay with you, just to have someone, there. Plus my mom worries about you. She talks about you all the time. She’d be ecstatic to have you home where she can see you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yamaguchi looked to his feet. He worried his lip, #1 on the list of Things That Yamaguchi Did That Made Kei Feel Uncomfortable™, but the list was very short and now he was starting to change his mind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I want to. I want to be with you guys, but I just feel like I’m relying on you guys too much. I don’t know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t have to. Sorry if it seemed like I was pressuring you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay, I just don’t know,” he leaned into Kei, who brought his arms up around him. “I know my current routine is destructive but I feel like I won’t be able to adjust if I change it, but I know I need to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I get that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They just sat for a second, like they did, and Kei felt stupid that he’d said something so insensitive like “</span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s fine if you do.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Yamaguchi was trying to be independent and prove he could do it on his own, which he could. But he wanted to be relied on, too. He knew that Yamaguchi worked best with someone holding him accountable, and Kei always made sure he was taking breaks and eating. Sometimes he did cut into Yamaguchi’s work time, but just a little was fine, right? He definitely wouldn’t distract him for too long. Kei worked best with him around, too. He was feeling way better than before. He felt all the muddiness in his brain clear, and he felt like he could finish the last four pages of his essay no problem. Easy. Being with Yamaguchi cleared his head. He pulled away, smiling gently at Kei.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks, Tsukki.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. I actually should be thanking you, though.” He leaned forward, setting his head on Yamaguchi’s shoulder. “I really needed a break, I’ve been writing my essay all day and forgot how to use my brain.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The engineer scoffed. “Taking breaks is important for you, too. Just because you’re smart, you’re not some superhuman who can do work for four straight hours like some reverse-Hinata,” he could practically hear him rolling his eyes. Yamaguchi started fiddling with his hands. Kei hummed, staring at Yamaguchi’s fidgeting hands again. They looked strange together. Kei’s hands were big and wide. He had weird callouses from odd jobs and volleyball and gardening. Yamaguchi’s hands were definitely prettier than his.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you eat today?” he yawned,</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. I made onigiri with fried chicken seasoned with the herbs your mom gave me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mmm, Yamaguchi home cooking, Is there any more?” He muttered, arms sneaking around his waist. It was a really nice day for March, and the warmth of the sun through his open curtains made him feel a little sleepy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, but we can make some.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, let’s do that next time,” he breathed, fully leaning all of his weight onto Yamaguchi, who fell back with an undignified “</span>
  <em>
    <span>oof!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You stayed up last night, didn’t you?” he said after a minute, patting his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s fine, isn’t it? This is perfect afternoon nap conditions, so I’ll just catch up, now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s not good for your sleep schedule.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We deserve a good nap. So let’s just take a break from work for a second.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mmmm,” he hummed pensively, but took off Kei’s glasses and set them on the table. “I guess an hour is okay.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei smiled, pressing his face into the crook of Yamaguchi’s neck. Yamaguchi started humming to fill the silence (which he probably didn’t even realize he was doing) and Kei’s eyes fell shut easily. It was a good day, actually. </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>He woke up to Yamaguchi’s laughter. He blinked his eyes open, not wanting to fully commit to waking up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, sorry, Tsukki, did I wake you up?” he asked, looking back at him. He was laying on his stomach, looking at his phone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mm,”  he shifted again, putting his face in Yamaguchi’s vague shoulder-neck region. He couldn’t really tell; his glasses were off. He giggled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, are you still sleeping? They’re gonna laugh-”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Hey, hey, hey! Tsukki-kun awakes!!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” He heard Bokuto shout, followed by Hinata’s laughter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They were so loud and annoying.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wait.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shot up, squinting at Yamaguchi’s phone. He could make out a few idiot-shaped blobs and sighed. They were on a video call?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Woah!!! That’s kinda gay, Tsukishima, yikes,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he heard Hinata say.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He huffed as Yamaguchi handed him his glasses, very embarrassed and a little angry that his half-awake display of clinginess had been for show for the idiot crew.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you kidding me? I hate gay people,” Tsukishima mumbled, sharing the screen with Yamaguchi. “Including you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hinata laughed. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes, I’m gay. Yes, I’m homophobic. We exist.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei rolled his eyes, wiping them under his glasses. “What do you want? I was sleeping.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They called and I answered. It was about time for the weekly groupchat call, right? Did you work so hard you forgot?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei had an extra long blink. He had forgotten. His brain was so fried.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You forgot about us? I’m so hurt,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Kuroo said jokingly, putting his hand on his heart. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You’re lucky your </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>boyfriend</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> picked up or it would’ve broken poor Kenma’s heart.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Not really,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Kenma muttered honestly in the background.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Got anything you wanna tell us, Tsukishima?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took him a moment to register, and he looked at Yamaguchi in confusion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, they know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m so hurt, Tsukki, Tadashi-kun! When were you going to tell us?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah,” Yamaguchi flustered, turning back to the phone. “No, I told you guys we aren’t really-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Pffft, as if we’d believe that!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Kuroo laughed, holding his stomach. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s true, Also don’t call me that,” Kei muttered, still groggy. “It was a misunderstanding with my brother and we just figured that way it would get him off my back anyway. He’s always trying to set me up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They all made sounds of disbelief, Hinata even going as far as falling back on his bed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s too convenient! Plus, Tadashi, you-</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s the truth and that’s it! Anyway, I was really procrastinating so I really have to go home. Feel free to make fun of Tsukki.” he said, getting up and putting his jacket on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you want me to see you out?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>See him off, Tsukishima!!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>OOOoooooOooh! A romantic kiss on the doorstep!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>No, even better, he walks him home!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>So romantic-!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He rolled his eyes, groaning. “I’m muting you!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They all laughed, but Kei turned off the camera and the mic and turned his volume down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you want me to see you home?” he asked, sitting up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, no, it’s fine, thanks, though. You still look pretty tired. Plus you should have your time with them. I want to talk to your mom for a minute, too, so,”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay. I’ll see you later, then,” he said, holding his arms out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yamaguchi smiled, leaning down to hug him. “Clingyshima,” he echoed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He chuckled, putting a knee on the bed and leaning down to give him a squeeze. “Thanks for the wind-down, Tsukki.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course. But hey. You can get thr-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His door flung open, interrupting his Very Encouraging Last Words Before Yamaguchi Went Back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“KEI I’M HOME! I GOT YOU A-oh,” His brother froze in the doorway. “Oh, uh, sorry!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They both stared at the door that he’d slammed a little too hard. Kei felt a hint of embarrassment claw at him. Akiteru always had the worst timing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yamaguchi burst out in laughter, leaning forward to set his head Kei’s, shoulders shaking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m gonna go clear that up,”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, tell him that he interrupted and I’m super mad,” he joked, tugging at Yamaguchi’s jacket.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I will not!” he insisted, rolling his eyes. “Bye, Tsukki,” he smiled, opening his door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bye,”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei couldn’t wipe the smile off of his face, but turned back to his phone, rejoining the video-call</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, idiots, I’m back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Clingyshima!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Clingyshima!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Bokuto seconded, Kuroo just laughing at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, that’s not a thing!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, it totally is.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>...it a little bit is...</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You are a bowl of cream, beat with sugar and vanilla until peaks form!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Hinata, my beloved disciple, you have lost me.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Hinata, what the fuck are you talking about?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He took a breath, throwing his arms up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Whipped.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh...my god.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>That was a stretch….</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Was that a culinary flex? That wasn’t even good.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mans took </span>
  <em>
    <span>one</span>
  </em>
  <span> cooking class…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>His ass shoulda been in comedy class, that’s where he shoulda been,</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Okay, well now I know who I’m not sending my stress-baking creations to,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Hinata rolled his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Please don’t; we all remember Kenma’s birthday last year.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just thinking about it made him nauseous. He tried it his cake to be nice, but it was...just not good.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I’ve gotten better! Seriously! Ask Tadashi! We bake together all the time over video-call.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Kei pressed his lips together. That was the first he’d heard of it. Not that it bothered him. Why would it bother him? What, that he wasn’t invited? What 11-year-old bullshit was that?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Sometimes Kageyama eats them, and he doesn’t even like sweets, so,</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>They’re trash,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” He heard Kageyama add from the background.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What? I’ll beat your ass!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Wahahaha!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bruh.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Well, we know where Kageyama is sleeping tonight.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Today was good, actually.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After he got off the call, he heard a tentative knock at the door. It was definitely Akiteru. He knocked back the same rhythm. His brother nervously peeked his head in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, bro. Can I come in?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” he said, rolling on his back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, sorry for earlier, I didn’t know he was in here or else I wouldn’t have just walked in,” he said, trying to hold back a laugh </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay, it’s not like we were doing anything.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Oh,” he said, except he didn’t look Convinced At All.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Seriously. I was just saying goodbye.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He bit his lip, trying not to smile. "Yeah, okay. No, yeah, absolutely. I 'believe you.'"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh my god, if you're gonna be a pain in the ass then just get out," he groaned, throwing his pillow at Akiteru's face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Bwahahaha! I'm done, I'm done! But seriously," he grinned, throwing the pillow back. He made himself comfortable on the floor, pulling an apple from god knows where (his pocket?? Why the hell had he put an apple in his pocket, he was so fucking weird). "It would be a genius way to bring up living together."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh my goooood," Kei rolled his eyes. "Stop trying to live out your latest shoujo manga through me."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm just saying it's good timing!! This is exactly the timing where the protagonist would bring it up."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was a little annoyed that he was right, and that he had, but then he remembered that he'd said something as embarrassing as "</span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s fine if you do, though</span>
  </em>
  <span>," and he got too embarrassed to hold his head up. He flopped down his bed, feeling his ears burn.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Maybe I should move in with him so I don't have to deal with you anymore." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I visit Tadashi, too. You're never safe," he evil villain laughed, like an idiot. He took a huge bite but kept laughing. Kei couldn't hold back a grin. He could never get used to how nice it was, to have his brother again. He'd been way too emo about the whole thing, and even though Akiteru was an actual pain in the ass, he was his older brother. He was fun.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"But honestly, why don't you move in with him? Isn’t your sex life suffering?" he asked nonchalantly, taking another grossly huge bite from his pocket apple.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei choked on his own spit. "That is none of your business," he said very definitively. He was so annoying. What was he doing, getting so flustered? "It's absolutely none of your business."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His brother only laughed in response. "Joking, joking! Anyway, mom wants me to move in. Since this is actually getting kind of bad and stuff. She wants to be as together as possible, in case they like, put a ban on traffic or something."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei immediately sobered. "Do you think it'll get that bad?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Maybe. She's getting nervous about it, and she doesn't really get nervous, so I don't know. Maybe she's seeing something at work that we're missing."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei shifted. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little freaked out. Things had definitely escalated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Eventually it’ll turn out okay, I think. But she just wants to be careful.” Kei unconsciously bit his lip. Did that mean that he wouldn’t be able to see Yamaguchi? They wouldn’t make them stay inside for good, would they? They were already discouraged from going outside unless they needed to. What, would they have police officers patrol to make sure people stayed in? That was kinda scary, wasn’t it? If anything like that happened, and he got stopped, he’d just lie. He didn’t care if he had to lie to the cops, he was not leaving Yamaguchi alone in that apartment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s worried about Tadashi, too,” he said, interrupting Kei’s thoughts. “She’s really worried about him being in the apartment complex. I think she wants him to stay with us. She definitely won’t ask him, though. She’s scared of pushing it, I think. She doesn’t wanna act too much like a mom.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei stared at his lamp. She definitely wouldn’t say anything. As upbeat as she was, she was very emotionally aware of where she was stepping. He then wondered what Yamaguchi’s mom was thinking. If she wanted to contact him to make sure he was healthy or if she wanted him to move in with her or at least whatever town she was at. He was glad she hadn’t. At least, if she had, he hadn’t heard about it. But Yamaguchi would tell him something like that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I want him to stay with us, too,” Akiteru said softly, picking the seeds out of his apple core. He sounded like he was about to get more emotional.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You should eat those; you need more cyanide in your life.” he joked, rolling towards the wall.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His brother got the hint, standing and letting out a chuckle, “Sorry to say there’s not enough in them to kill me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A tragedy, really.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You should be nicer to me. You’re gonna have to see me every day from now on, you know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He muttered a “yeah, yeah, whatever,” shooing him away, stuffing his face into his pillow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t know what the right answer was. He didn’t want to push him, but he didn’t want to leave him alone. He couldn’t leave him alone. Being alone just wasn’t good for Yamaguchi. Besides, he wanted to see him every day, just like before. He felt a strain in his chest. He didn’t need to think about it too much.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>The fourth day without seeing Yamaguchi was hell. They were still talking, sure, they’d video called, but it wasn’t the same. He the other day he’d even called Kei really late to inform him that he had in fact got the extension. (“Kana-chan is clutch as fuck!” “...where did you learn that.”) But he was at his rope. He knew the past three days Yamaguchi had been working really hard on his schoolwork, all day and night, and just because he was done didn’t mean he had the energy to come here, but still, he couldn’t settle down. He held out most of the day by lazy texts about Breath of the Wild; his cousin had sent it to him and he was going to play all day as a treat. He held out until about six o’clock. He felt so ridiculous for being so desperate, but it was so frustrating to have Yamaguchi a few minutes away and not be able to see him. Especially after not seeing him all this time. The weather definitely wasn’t helping. It’d been raining since yesterday. This sucked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, honey! I’m almost done with work,” His mother popped her head in. “We’re having nabe for dinner, so it should be ready in an hour or so.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyebrows furrowed and she stepped inside, closing the door behind her. “What’s wrong? Sendai-shi still hasn’t emailed you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Didn’t check,” he replied lazily, pulling out his phone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He opened his email, and to his surprise, the director had sent an e-mail! His heart jumped a little bit. He opened it, reading aloud,</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“To all current and future employees. Due to COVID-19, we are officially closing. We are sorry to say that at the moment, we only have workers essential for preserving the quality of the museum. You have all been individually contacted. For pending employees, please keep on an eye on your e-mail and your employment will be discussed. We are sorry to deliver this news, and we hope you and your families are safe and healthy.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He huffed, dropping his phone on his bed, sighing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, honey.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He buried his face into his pillow, groaning. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sure once all this is cleared up, you’ll be starting, no problem.” his mother consoled, rubbing his back. “We just have to wait it out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He mumbled a garbled noise in response, and she pat his head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lucky I made nabe, today, huh?” she chuckled. Nabe was a comfort food for his family. His grandmother always made it whenever he went over after something bad happened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, honey,” she consoled one last time, kissing his forehead and standing up; she still wasn’t finished with work.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you,” he mumbled, holding out his hand. She took it and squeezed it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I love you, dear. I know it’s hard, but remember it’s out of your control. It’s not your fault, and you just can’t do anything about it, so try not to beat yourself up, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay. I love you too, mom,” he said, scrunching up his nose. She gave him one last squeeze then went back to her room. That was right, she still had work to do. This sucked. He felt his eyes sting and took another deep breath in. It felt like his entire world; his entire plan was falling apart. He couldn’t have a proper college graduation, his future workplace that had cleared him for work after said graduation was closing, and he hadn’t seen Yamaguchi in four days. After feeling pitiful for a while, he took his mother’s advice to heart. He couldn’t change the first two, but he definitely could change the last one. Before he had a chance to collect his thoughts, he was already dialing Yamaguchi’s number.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Hey!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t planned anything, he just wanted Yamaguchi to come over.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Tsukki? Are you there?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I need a button on my shirt fixed,” he blurted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh my god, </span>
  </em>
  <span>that was the dumbest thing he’d ever said. He literally could’ve asked him to come over for dinner. He could’ve actually told him the truth; he literally had nothing to lose. Kei regretted it almost as soon as he said it, but Yamaguchi laughed, so the regret was gone. If he needed to be an idiot to hear it, then he would. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I wonder if there’s someone at home who can help you with that?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come over</span>
  <em>
    <span>,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he said in slight irritability. Yamaguchi knew he was just making excuses, so why wouldn’t he just hurry up and come over already?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m heading over right now.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he could hear the smile. He could also hear him rustling his raincoat on, and as soon as he pictured him in the threshold he felt like crying. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Do you want to talk until I get there?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Kei didn’t say anything, but since Yamaguchi understood him, he could afford to be spoiled like that. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Okay, so today,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He listened to him ramble until he saw him approach the door. Kei slid it open. As soon as Yamaguchi stepped in, he deflated on top of him. It was supposed to be a hug, but really just looked like Kei had gone unconscious and Yamaguchi was trying to hold him up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey,” he said through a laugh. “I haven’t taken my coat off, you know. You’ll get wet.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Doesn’t matter,” he mumbled, squeezing him tighter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t say that. Come on, just let me take my jacket off, and all wet. You can still hug me just wait a second.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He huffed, retracting himself. But as soon as Yamaguchi took it off, Kei was right back, draped over him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Haha, that bad? Don’t you want to at least get inside before you do that again?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can’t we just stay like this for a while?” he asked. He must’ve sounded desperate, because Yamaguchi hugged him tighter, murmuring a soft and comforting:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei didn’t let himself think. He didn’t have the energy, mental or physical, to do it. He didn’t think about Sendai-shi. He didn’t think about the pandemic. He didn’t think at all. It was only Yamaguchi and him, in the threshold of the home he’d grown up in. Then it was only Yamaguchi and him and Yamaguchi’s humming. A welcomed addition. Once he recognized the tune, he chuckled a little. It was Sugawara-san’s song.. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You have the melody memorized already?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. Suga-san worked really hard on it, so of course it’s stuck in my head. Don’t remember the words yet, though. What was it called again?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Still.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Still! That’s right! That’s right. It’s so pretty it makes my heart go all mushy. His voice is so beautiful.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cheater,” he mumbled, closing his eyes. He still felt bad, but now that he was here, it was Significantly Less Bad™.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yamaguchi laughed, tightening his grip a little. “Your voice is nice, too, don’t get jealous.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You didn’t say it’s beautiful, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It is! Just in a different way. Suga-san’s is like a gentle prince who promises to love you forever. Your voice is like, the edgy kid who can sing but is only in chorus cause his mom made him, but he’s good, so you’re actually kinda into it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Joking, joking. I won’t cheat on you with Suga-san,” he chuckled, hands busying themselves with Kei’s hair. “He’s engaged, you know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Really?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, in February. Before all this started, actually.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hm,” he closed his eyes, Yamaguchi’s hands soothing his foul mood. He didn’t have the energy to be upset anymore. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They stood in silence for a bit, not moving an inch from the doorway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you okay?” he asked softly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” he replied, frustrated. He scrunched his nose up, trying to stop tears from forming.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t have to,” he gently dragged his knuckles across his back in a pattern that was calming and just so...Yamaguchi. He felt like he was at the center of the world. It was that kind of calm. Kei heard his mother’s door open and jumped a little.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, Tadashi, you’re here!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi, Mama!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He removed himself from the shorter man, who finally took off his shoes, coming into the house.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry if I interrupted,” his mom chuckled, putting a hand over her mouth. “After hearing that phone call, I needed some water.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kei felt his face flush as Yamaguchi bounded over to the sink to wash his hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You heard that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She let out a stomach laugh and walked over to greet him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was surprised when his mother said it, but then again, she was always straight-forward. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why don’t you just stay here? I’m worried about you traveling to and fro. And I worry about you eating properly. It seems like Kei calls you every day anyway, so,” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not every day!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It absolutely is!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yamaguchi belly-laughed too, drying his hands off. To even more of Kei’s dismay, Akiteru popped out of his room, grinning. “Is that Tadashi I hear?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He dragged a hand over his face. It was definitely Make Fun Of Kei Time™.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yamaguchi, come over,” his mother mocked in a funny low voice. “There’s a tear in my shirt.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh my god,”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yamaguchi, come over. There’s something wrong with my computer.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh my god.</span>
  </em>
  <span> I’m leaving.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He rolled his eyes, leaning on Yamaguchi again. He teared up a little. He didn’t need to isolate when he was going through something. He had family. Yamaguchi was family, too. The comfort of each other would get them through this. Kei was an introvert and all, but he couldn’t handle however long this was going to be by himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought a lot about it, and if you guys are okay with it, I want to stay here for a bit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He smiled a secret smile into Yamaguchi’s shoulder. Today, his gain outweighed his loss.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So after dinner, they rolled out the extra futon and talked until they fell asleep. The resolution really took a weight off of Kei, though that was just probably because he, like his mother had said, liked to have Yamaguchi where he could see him. A light feeling stayed in his stomach though, a child-like excitement as they slept next to each other for the first time in a while. Kei couldn’t stop smiling, and Yamaguchi couldn’t stop talking. That was really how he preferred it though. Eventually, the giddy restlessness died down a little, and with Yamaguchi’s soft rambling, he fell asleep.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>ok! wow ok so the next chapter is almost done, but wowow i forgot how much i loved these two!! can't believe haikyuu is ending on monday i have a lot to catch up on!!!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Okay But Like, This Was Probably A Worse Idea Than Anticipated, Like, For Real, Though</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Soft Gay Content: Yamaguchi and Tsukki are just kind of sweet to eachother and I'm starting to wonder if this fic even has plot anymore</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I. AM. SO. SORRY. I was planning to put out this chapter when Haikyuu ended.....and I thought I did............dude peak ADHD. ANyway it's not beta read so sorry for any mistakes and !!!thank you for sticking with me lmaooooo aight. for y'all! (also the song referenced in this chapter is thread dance by gesu no kiwami otome)<br/>OKAY<br/>ANYWAY. HERE YALL GO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kei, as confident as he was in his cognitive abilities, was beginning to think that this may have been a worse idea than he’d thought. It wasn’t good to begin with, but he didn’t think they'd actually get this far. His mother was more perceptive of the two, but he’d also kind of expected Akiteru to catch on. The light coming through the blinds painted Yamaguchi with a yellow-orange glow of morning. He’d fallen asleep playing his switch again. Kei let out an amused exhale, getting up to retrieve it. He was going to be upset if it was still dead when he woke up, so he plugged it in. </p><p>Yamaguchi moved a little, shifting so that the blanket was barely even on the futon anymore. Kei silently snickered. By now, he was pretty familiar with his weird habits, but Yamaguchi’s sleeping patterns would never stop being funny to him. When they were younger, he’d been kicked in the face his fair share. How could he sleep with such a peaceful face when he was contorted like <em> that </em>? Even though he was very, very familiar with sleepy mornings with Yamaguchi, it was rare that he was the first one awake, so he relished in it for a second. Yamaguchi looked so content, but only in his shorts and a t-shirt, Kei wondered how he wasn’t cold with the blanket almost completely on the floor. He felt his face get hot and averted his eyes. This was too domestic for him to be comfortable with. Or rather, that was the problem. He was too comfortable. If you weren’t dating someone, watching them sleep was kind of creepy. Well, it was pretty creepy anyway, actually, but a person could admire the gentle look on their significant other’s face. That was a Thing™, right? He'd seen it plenty of times in movies or whatever. Should he make breakfast? It was rare that he was up first, and it would be nice. He felt like cooking, anyway. Yamaguchi churned some more, more awake with every move until he settled on his side, towards Kei, with the blanket up to his chin. He was such a silly sleeper. Yamaguchi blinked his eyes open, looking right at him. A sleepy smile settled on his lips. They just kind of looked at each other for a little bit, neither acknowledging the immediacy of morning. He’d had a million lazy Saturdays before and he’d loved them all, but today felt soft, for some reason. He smiled back.</p><p>“Morning,” He mumbled. “It’s still early, so you can relax. Unless there’s something you need to do.”</p><p>Yamaguchi shook his head tepidly, closing his eyes for another minute, before giving up and opening them to stare at Kei again. </p><p>Okay, <em> this </em> was Kei’s favorite Yamaguchi. Eyes puffy with sleep, not yet able to form words, scenes from his dreams probably still floating in his head. He was a surprisingly fickle person when he was tired. Not irritable like he was, but still very particular. “You fell asleep with your switch, so I just plugged it in.”</p><p>He blinked a long blink as if to say <em> thanks </em>.</p><p>“It’s only like,” Kei checked his phone. “Nine o’clock, so unless you’re hungry, you don’t have to get up or anything. Nobody else’ll be up until like, ten. I kinda feel like cooking, though, if you do want to get up.”</p><p>Yamaguchi shifted the blanket away from his mouth, murmuring in a low morning voice, “So what I’m hearing is a romantic breakfast morning all to ourselves?”</p><p>“Oh yes. A very romantic breakfast in my mother's kitchen with framed pictures of frogs on every wall.” Kei rolled his eyes, standing up. “And congrats, Yamaguchi, your voice finally dropped.”</p><p>“Fuck off,” Yamaguchi laughed, throwing a pillow at him and turning over. He caught it, tossing it back at his feet. The second person to wake up started the morning, a rule they’d had since childhood. It was usually Kei since he mostly liked to sleep in.</p><p>“Do you want breakfast or not, you shit?” he said through chuckles, kicking the sleeping man. He’d rolled over again, pulling the blankets over him.</p><p>“Mnnnnnnn, what happened to ‘there’s no rush?’” he whined, keeping his eyes closed. “There’s a toll. A Yamaguchi Toll For Getting Up. I need at least five compliments and one free-to-play game in return.”</p><p>“<em> Oh, my god </em> you are <em> so </em>annoying.”</p><p>Yamaguchi only laughed in response, giggle hoarse in his throat.</p><p>“I’m getting up, I’m getting up,” he said, and then proceeded to not move for an entire minute. Kei retrieved his pillow, holding it threateningly.</p><p>"Yamaguchi,"</p><p>“<em> I’m up! </em>” He shrieked, jumping up and laughing as he evaded him. They were probably going to wake up his brother, but how could he tell Yamaguchi to be quiet when he was this wonderful? This was also a Yamaguchi that Kei really liked. Silly and joyful, a hint of the childishness he was forced to give up too soon. </p><p>“Fine, I’m up,” he said, clambering onto Kei’s bed.</p><p>“Stupid-” Kei’s brain temporarily stalled, eyes falling to Yamaguchi’s exposed thighs. <em> Oh. </em> Another thing he could not get used to. He regained his senses, and Yamaguchi kicked him, rolling off his bed and retrieving his blanket.</p><p>“Okay, I’m up, so feed me,” he murmured, wrapping the blanket around his shoulders.</p><p>Kei licked his suddenly dry lips. Why was he getting all flustered? It was Yamaguchi. <em> Yamaguchi </em>. The reality check didn't calm him at all, so he only blinked and tried to talk above his beating heart.</p><p>“Okay."</p><p>They walked quietly down the hall to the kitchen, Yamaguchi humming Pokemon music. Kei couldn’t hold back a smile. He put a pan on the stove, and Yamaguchi leaned back against it, still humming.</p><p>“A lot of little things haven’t changed,” Kei said in reference to their conversation from the other day, getting the butter and eggs out of the fridge. “Like you humming in the morning.”</p><p>Yamaguchi stared, going quiet for a minute. Then he kicked him in the shin. </p><p>“That sounded so embarrassing, what the hell!”</p><p>“It wasn’t. I was just saying,” It <em> was </em> embarrassing, and Kei didn’t know why he had to say it out loud, but he was getting used to vocalizing more of his thoughts with Yamaguchi, so he wrote it off as a slip-up. “Is three good?”</p><p>“Yeah. But,” Yamaguchi mused, poking Kei in various places. “You always pick up on that stuff. You’re sentimental and I think that’s seriously cool of you.”</p><p>Kei snorted, beating the eggs. “And that’s seriously embarrassing of you.”<br/>“How is that embarrassing, but what you were saying isn’t?” he huffed, crossing his arms. </p><p>He put down the bowl.</p><p>“No, I said that you hum in the morning like always,” Kei put the butter in the pan, turning to Yamaguchi. “<em> You said </em> that I was cool. And besides, you’re more cooler than me, so to hear it from you is more embarrassing.” Kei said, jabbing him right below the ribs where he knew he was ticklish. </p><p>“Your face is more embarrassing!” Yamaguchi managed to say in between laughs, dealing back the rough-housing. “Being embarrassing is a part of the Yamaguchi Toll For Waking Up, too.”</p><p>"You're actually 10, oh my god," Kei put him in a loose headlock, ruffling his hair.</p><p>“<em> Tsukki </em> !” Yamaguchi shrieked, grabbing his arm in unshaped joy. “ <em> Hey </em>, the butter is melted already!”</p><p>Kei relaxed his hold on Yamaguchi, but kept his arm loosely around him. The other man didn’t let go either. Kei picked up the bowl, pouring it into the pan, cooking over him. It was nice. It had been a long time since they’d been in the kitchen, just the two of them. Kei was fond of this newfound physical (affection? skinship?) It wasn’t that they never were touchy, just that they were even more now. He often found himself leaning on Yamaguchi or hooking an arm around him or playing footsies just cause he could. Kei had really cold feet, so Yamaguchi’s reactions were always great when he did something like stick his foot inside of his futon to wake him up. He wondered when Yamaguchi strewn across his bed became Yamaguchi strewn across his lap on his bed, but he couldn’t exactly pinpoint a time, so he just thought it must have been vaguely high school era. Either way, he was just Aware of Yamaguchi now, and it was a little embarrassing, actually, but a good kind.</p><p>“Thank you for getting me back on track, Mr. Chef’s assistant, sir.”</p><p>“Oh, but of course, chef. It’s an honor to be in the kitchen with you,” Yamaguchi played along, turning in his arm to face him. Kei rested his elbow on his shoulder and brought up his other hand to tug on some of the hair he’d just messed up.</p><p>“Are you gonna get another haircut?” he asked, sectioning off as much as he could behind his ear. “It grows so fast. It hasn't been this long since high school. You can do a pony-tail now.”</p><p>“I was thinking about cutting it,” Tadashi replied, tracing the patterns on Kei’s shirt over his stomach. “But I don’t know, I’m also thinking maybe-”</p><p>“Being lovey-dovey so early in the morning?”<br/>Yamaguchi pulled away immediately, ducking into the cupboard in embarrassment, muttering a flustered: “ <em> oh my god. </em>”</p><p>Akiteru laughed, walking into the kitchen.</p><p>“Literally die.” Kei menaced, mixing the bell peppers in. Akiteru seriously always had the worst timing. He looked at the door of the cabinet, unable to see Yamaguchi’s face. “See? Too much time messing around in the morning now he’s awake.”</p><p>Yamaguchi laughed from the cupboard. “How is that my fault?”</p><p>“It is!” Kei laughed back. “Yamaguchi Toll For Waking Up bullshit.”</p><p>Yamaguchi laughed harder.</p><p>“Find what you’re looking for, Tadashi?” Akiteru asked teasingly. </p><p>“<em> Aki-nii! </em>” he groaned, looking classically embarrassed, slamming the Himalayan pink salt on the counter.</p><p>“<em> Bwahahahaha! So red! </em>”</p><p>Kei scoffed. “Oh, my god, you’re insufferable. Give me that,” he sprinkled some salt in while the egg was cooking.</p><p>“<em> You’re </em>insufferable,” Yamaguchi mocked, kicking him in the calf.</p><p>“Yeah, Kei, <em> you’re </em> insufferable,” Aki mimicked childishly, shuffling through the fridge.</p><p>“All of you are insufferable, and that’s the truth!” Mama Tsukishima huffed in fake annoyance, wrapping her shawl around her shoulders.</p><p>“Mama!” Yamaguchi sang, wrapping her up in his blanket as he gave a good morning hug. </p><p>“Good morning, honey,” she cooed, and Kei rolled his eyes. She absolutely babied Yamaguchi without fail, every day. “Aki, don’t stand with the fridge open.”</p><p>“I wasn’t!”</p><p>“Oh, I thought I smelled bad cooking,” she teased.</p><p>“Mom!”</p><p>“Joking!”</p><p>Before, he was slightly annoyed that the moment was over, but before long, the irritation dissipated. It was nice to share a morning with three people he really cared about. The movement of a household was back; they’d all finally settled well into their rhythms. This morning was proof; everything was going to be okay. His mother kicked him off the stove after he made Yamaguchi’s omelet, and they spent the next half hour all cooking together. It was the first time since he’d left for college that they had a proper family breakfast. It was either just him and his mom, or just him and his brother or just him and Yamaguchi. This time it was everybody.</p><p>“So, do you boys have any plans for today? Akiteru, I know you’re going back to your apartment to pack.”</p><p>“Too bad he’ll be back in like, two hours,” Kei grumbled.</p><p>“<em> Kei. </em>”</p><p>It wasn’t like he was being 100% serious. Akiteru was just fun in doses. That’s just how it was, though. People get tiring if you’re with them all the time. <em> Except for Yamaguchi. </em> The nagging voice in the back of his head said. He ignored it.</p><p>“Kei?”</p><p>He looked up from his glass of water. “Hm? Sorry, I missed it.”</p><p>“I said can you run to your grandfather’s today? To bring them things?”</p><p>Oh. His grandfather. He sighed. That was an issue. He was old and homophobic but in a playful way? He still cared about Kei, but when he went to visit, he could never bring himself to stay long.</p><p>“You’re allowed to say no, Kei,” his mother said calmingly, and he felt overcome with ease. “It seems like he’s getting better about it, but if you think it’ll start a fight, Akiteru can go. Plus I know you have homework and things.”</p><p>“I’ll go,” he decided, taking a sip of his water. “I haven’t seen him in a while.”</p><p>He felt a tentative something (<em> a foot. </em> he discover) knock against his leg ( <em> Yamaguchi’s foot </em>). He was looking at him with a supportive yet inquisitive look. Yamaguchi was asking if he needed him to go with.</p><p>The sweetness of the wordless gesture made Kei’s brain more than short-circuit, so Yamaguchi verbalized.</p><p>“Do you want me to go with you? Unless, it’s supposed to be just you, or,” Yamaguchi’s sentence tapered off as he looked to Mama for guidance. </p><p>“Oh, no, it’s not anything special. You being there might help, actually. If he learns that it’s <em> you </em> that’s Kei’s boyfriend he might...well, it would...since he likes you, Tadashi...” his mother searched for the right words. </p><p>“Might soften the fall,” Akiteru joked, getting up to wash his dishes.</p><p>“Yes,” she agreed quietly, looking at her hands.</p><p>Kei blinked. “So grandpa knows I have a boyfriend?”</p><p>Akiteru made a face. </p><p>No.</p><p>“Wow, is it that late already? I gotta go, see everybody la-”</p><p>“<em> Akiteru! </em>” Kei yelled, standing abruptly at the table. His brother was such a gossipy bitch!</p><p>“<em> I told grandma cause she asked about you! She didn’t tell me it was on speaker! </em>”</p><p>“<em> She’s 68! Of course it’s on speaker! </em>” Kei sank back into his seat, groaning heavily. “I hope your car breaks down and all your possessions fall into the road.”</p><p>“Sorry, Kei! Good luck!” he called over his shoulder, trotting out the door.</p><p>He owed him. He <em> so </em> owed him. Kei groaned, making a few fussy motions while gathering his dishes. He was hoping that this would already be over by the time that his grandpa even knew. Ugh, this sucked.</p><p>“Are you still going?”</p><p>“Yeah,” He huffed, putting his dishes in the sink. He didn’t feel like washing them. </p><p>“I’ll go, too,” Yamaguchi said, voice firm and unwavering. It was his Captain Voice™. His discomfort dissipated for a moment. Kei didn’t know what to make of that, or the warmth it set in his chest.</p><p>“Okay. I’m gonna take a shower then we can maybe go in the afternoon,” he said, halfway out of the kitchen.</p><p>“Yeah,” his mother hummed, giving him a sympathetic look. “Do your best, Kei.”<br/>Kei gave an agreeing noise, heading to his room. He had a feeling this was going to be a little tiring. It wasn’t as if his grandfather was outright homophobic and hated him, though that would be easier to deal with. He was just playfully homophobic; in the way that old grandpas are. Saying little comments at family dinner only to be chastised by his grandmother, to which he responded something like “What? I’m just saying it’s just not natural.” It didn’t hurt him, it was just kind of annoying. But he was his grandfather, and he was old and from a different time, so he just had to deal with it.</p><p>He flopped on his bed, instinctually bringing his phone up to his face. The groupchat had 11 notifications. When he clicked on the notification, though, he just saw it was Bokuto and Kuroo trading memes with a single interruption from Lev, which was an outdated four-panel. They were still going actually. Kuroo had just sent a picture of a dude putting on clown makeup captioned: <em> Lev when he thinks he’s sending a good meme in the groupchat. </em> Lev sent an angry sticker, a cat crossing his arms. Kei exhaled out of his nose. Usual antics. He put on his Shower playlist, deciding he’d get up after an exciting song came on. He put his brain on autopilot, jumping from social media to social media for god knows how long. (an hour and a half) No song particularly sparked him to get up, and now he wasn’t determined to get up. Where had the sudden tiredness come from?</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Sou, neshizumatta tokai de bokura wa fundan ni imikiraiau, </em> ”<br/>But for now, he listened to Enon’s gentle, bittersweet voice tug his thoughts away.</p><p>“<em> Thread dance odorenai ka?” </em></p><p> </p><p>“-kki. Tsukki!”</p><p>Kei blinked, hard, shifting. He sat up in confusion, grogginess clouding his brain. Had he fallen asleep? </p><p>“Hey, sleepy-head. It’s 1:30.”<br/>“Already?” a deep-set panic of losing time sat in his chest as he threw his covers off. (when had he pulled them on?) and set his feet on the floor. “Shit, I have to take a shower.”</p><p>“Hey, hey,” Yamaguchi soothed, walking in, approaching the bed. “No rush. You have all the time in the world. I just didn’t expect you to fall asleep, but now that I think about it, you didn’t sleep for very long last night, huh?”<br/>He groaned, leaning his head against Yamaguchi’s stomach while clearing his notifications.</p><p>Bokuto, Kuroo, Nito Ichika uploaded a video, Pikuniku (a game on Yamaguchi’s wish list) was on sale, still no emails from his school or the museum.</p><p>“God hates gays and this is proof,” he muttered like he did at every inconvenience (mostly minor) in his life.</p><p>Yamaguchi chortled, resting his hands on Tsukki’s shoulders. “Is that another thing you picked up from Akinyi?” </p><p>“It’s true,” he muttered as dramatically as possible.</p><p>“It’s funny,” Yamaguchi settled, gently fidgeting with his shirt collar and gently brushing at the hair down around Kei’s neck. “We don’t have to go today if you don’t want to.”</p><p>“I should,” he shivered a little at the feather-light touch. Yamaguchi should probably stop doing that.</p><p>“Should, maybe,” his hands immediately adjusted, jumping up a little, more definitely twisting at Kei’s hair. “But Akiteru-nii won’t mind. It’s not the end of the world if you cancel.”</p><p>“It’s my grandfather, everything is the end of the world.” </p><p>“Hmm, now I know where you get it from.”</p><p>“Shut up, Yamaguchi,” Kei brought his arms up around him, locking his hands behind his back. </p><p>“Hmmm. Shutting up and comforting touches are mutually exclusive, I’m afraid. If you want the comfort, I’m afraid you’re just gonna have to deal with annoying un-shut up Yamaguchi.” </p><p>“You’re not annoying.”</p><p>Yamaguchi’s comforting fingers combed and soothed Kei’s hair, tugging gently. Heaven. It was nice, he thought, so very aware of his hands again today, how he knew how to touch him. Touching (excessive or otherwise) wasn’t uncommon for childhood friends, right? Being close to someone would naturally make you touchy with them. But it felt like they touched a lot more now than when they were younger. Or rather, touching grown to be more natural, now. Not to say they didn’t touch when they were kids, just that it was almost second nature already. He supposed that was just how it was with people who’d been close as long as they had. You learn what they like and don’t like, and that applied to being physical, too. An evolution of sorts, he supposed. Why was he being so weird about this?</p><p>“You okay?” Yamaguchi’s voice was soft and gentle, yet so sure. Just like his fingers; knowing, but still moving carefully.</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“Do you still wanna go?”</p><p>“...yeah.” he decided after a moment’s pause, looking up at Yamaguchi. “If you’ll come with me.”</p><p>“That’s a pretty shoujo line coming from a man who’s 200 centimeters.” Yamaguchi teased, but even then, his voice was light, no real meaning behind his words.</p><p>“201,” he corrected, being petty for no reason. “You’re the one who reads shoujo enough to recognize those kind of lines.”</p><p>Yamaguchi made a noise, pinching his cheeks. “It’s good storytelling! Don’t get salty cause you don’t understand good literature!”</p><p>He laughed, escaping from Yamaguchi’s wrath against his face. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. Ouran High School Host Club is undoubtedly good literature.”</p><p>“I’m going to go pull the plug on the bath your mom just drew for you.” </p><p>“No, no! I’m going, I’m going!”</p><p>Auntie was fixing some bushes outside when they arrived. It was nice for mid-March, and Kei felt an itch that his mom was going to start planting things soon. He took a breath and braced himself. His mother’s sister was one of the most eccentric and excitable people he knew.</p><p>“Kei-chan!! Tada-chan!” she cheered, gathering them up in a big hug. “<em> My boys </em> , how <em> are </em> you? It’s been too long!”</p><p>“Hi, auntie. You look as beautiful as ever.”</p><p>“Oh, Tadashi, stop. But you’ve become a handsome young man.” she pinched his cheeks, then reached up to pinch Kei’s cheeks. “And you’ve become such a tall young man.”</p><p>“What, auntie? Tadashi gets handsome but I get tall? I haven’t grown since Christmas. I’ve been done growing!”</p><p>Tadashi and his aunt cracked up. He grinned a little to himself</p><p>“You’re my handsome nephew, too,” she said, leading them inside.</p><p>Yamaguchi shone a little bit at the fact that she said “too.” Kei found that incredibly wonderful.</p><p>Kaede was in the kitchen, lounging on her phone. Auntie took off her gloves and put hand sanitizer on, giving him and Yamaguchi a little, too.</p><p>“Your cousins are here,” she called, then turned to Kei. “Let me go change and I’ll go see what your grandmother’s doing.”</p><p>“Okay. Thank you, Auntie.” She gave a nod and went to her room. </p><p>“Hey, Kaede-chan!” Yamaguchi sang.</p><p>Kaede whirled around in surprise, smiling wide. “<em> Tadashi?! </em>” She jumped from her seat to hug him, rocking side to side. “Hey! It’s been so long! How are you?”</p><p>“Oh, you know, as good as you can get on corona-cation.” he joked.</p><p>“Did you come up with that? Stupid,” she rolled her eyes. “Wow, your hair is long again! It looks so pretty. I want to braid it, kind of.” she ran her hand through it, sectioning off some parts.</p><p>“Are you going to say hello to me or are you just going to flirt with my boyfriend while I’m right here,” Kei said monotone, obviously annoyed with their PDA.</p><p>“I said hi earlier. Why are you mad, jeez. Tadashi, this guy’s personality sucks, I don’t know what you see.”</p><p>Yamaguchi scoffed, joining her at the table. “Please. You know just as well as I do that he’s just a big baby.”</p><p>“I’m not-!”</p><p>“You are,” they said in sync.</p><p>Kei rolled his eyes, walking to the fridge and putting the Tupperware containers in where they fit. He poured himself a cup of juice.</p><p>“Anyway, what’s up? Did you come over just to hang, or...?</p><p>“Well, kind of,” Kei shrugged, putting his juice down. Yamaguchi reached for the cup immediately. “It’s cranberry-grape,” he warned. </p><p>“Okay,” he muttered, taking a sip despite its slight bitterness. He set his chin on the table, tapping absentmindedly.</p><p>“Also mom had some food,” Kei finished, sitting. “Since gram and gramps shouldn’t be going out right now.”</p><p>“Hm. How long are y’all here for?”<br/>“Until next semester,” </p><p>“You too, Tadashi?”</p><p>“Mmhmm. I don’t mind as much, though. It’s just hard to do school online. I feel like all of my responsibilities aren’t real,” he took another sip of the juice.</p><p>Kei scoffed, looking down at him. “Do you just want me to pour you a cup?”</p><p>“No, I just wanted a sip or two,” he muttered, rubbing the hand sanitizer over his hands.</p><p>Kei gave him a look and got back up after two seconds. “I’m pouring you some.”</p><p>“Tsukki, I just said I only wanted a little bit. I only want a little bit of yours.”</p><p>“Yeah, then I’m gonna go to take a sip and there will be nothing left.”</p><p>Kaede “pffffft”ed and gave him a Look. It said: “Drama Queen.”</p><p>“You can’t get mad at me if I don’t drink all of it.”</p><p>“I won’t get mad.”</p><p>“<em> What a gift! </em>” </p><p>Kei immediately warmed at the voice that carried through the room.</p><p>“Three of my dear grandchildren all at once! What a blessing.”</p><p>“Hi, Grandma,” Kei smiled, walking over to give her a hug. It had been too long since he’d seen his grandmother. He saw her during Christmas time, of course, but still, it was too short and he didn’t get to talk to her much. She was in good shape for her age, but she was getting more and more tired lately, it seemed.<br/>“My sweet Kei, how are you, dear?”</p><p>“I’m good, I’m good. Mom told me to bring some food. Tadashi’s here, too.”</p><p>“I see that. Hello, sweetheart,” she hugged him tightly, too. It was very sweet to see them back together again since his grandmother was always important to Yamaguchi. They might have been closer than Yamaguchi and Kei’s mother.</p><p>“I missed you so much,” Tadashi murmured.</p><p>“I missed you, as well.” she patted his head. “You boys look so grown up, even after all this time makes me a little sad, haha. And you, too, young lady. Don’t think you can hide behind that phone.”<br/>“Not hiding, Gram,” she laughed, hugging her tightly, too. “I didn’t come in this morning cause I didn’t wanna wake you.”</p><p>“That’s okay, dear. But I do need to start setting up my garden, so, get some gloves on.”</p><p>“Do you need any extra help?” Yamaguchi asked, flexing an arm jokingly. “I’m a lot stronger than the last time.”</p><p>His grandmother laughed, full and hearty. “You could barely lift the bags of fertilizer if I’m remembering correctly. But still, you were so persistent.”</p><p>Yamaguchi flushed a little, looking pretty embarrassed. Kei let out a small snort. It was adorable. He remembered that summer, too. It was three summers ago when they stayed to help his grandmother with garden work for a few weeks. That was one of the hottest summers he’d seen. He blinked away the sweaty memories and tried to zone back in.</p><p>“Kei?”</p><p>“Y-yes?”</p><p>“I said your grandfather is in the back room. I scolded him earlier, but if he says anything, I don’t mind roughin’ him up.” She pulled her sleeve up and flexed her tattoed arm, which was almost as big as Yamaguchi’s and made a mean face. “Don’t you go forgettin’ where I come from.”</p><p>Kei laughed, and she patted his shoulder. “Thanks, Gram.”</p><p>“You, too, Tadashi-kun.”</p><p>“As if. Gramps doesn’t have the capacity to say anything mean to Tadashi.” Kaede said, following her grandmother out the door.</p><p>Kei wasn’t nervous, but he was annoyed. He probably shouldn't have even asked Yamaguchi to do this. He knew him getting a steady boyfriend and telling him was not going to end perfect, but now Yamaguchi was going to be in the middle. Would his grandfather be okay? Since it was Tadashi? Or would it make him mad? His grandpa wasn’t going to disown him or yell or throw things; he wasn’t like that. But he did make a lot of comments, and he didn’t know if those comments would hurt Yamaguchi or not.</p><p>"<em> Kei </em>."</p><p>The clear-headedness came back to him. Yamaguchi gently put a hand on his shoulder.</p><p>"We don't have to say anything. You don't have to say anything about boyfriends or dating or me. We can just talk."</p><p>Of course. Of course. Everything was going to be okay because it was Yamaguchi. Even if it turned out bad or his grandfather got mad or whatever, it would be okay. </p><p>"Sorry, I just…" Yamaguchi looked at him patiently as he tried to piece his thoughts together. "I was just thinking too hard. It’s really not that big of a deal. Sorry for dragging you into this."</p><p>"Tsukki, Animal Crossing comes out tonight, are you kidding me? The bliss I’m gonna feel is nothing compared to this."</p><p>Kei laughed as they walked to the back room.</p><p>"Yeah,"</p><p>Wait. Had Yamaguchi just called him…?</p><p>"Besides, I have a feeling everything will be fine. Ojii-san is like my friend, so.”</p><p>Kei slid the door open to see his grandfather sitting on his cushion at his table. </p><p>"Hey, gramps."</p><p>"Kei. You brought somebody with you?"</p><p>"Yeah, my boyfriend."</p><p>His grandfather grunted.</p><p>He nodded for Yamaguchi to come in, and his grandfather's face lit up.</p><p>"Tadashi, my boy! Oh...you-" he looked between the two, putting it together. Then he spontaneously broke out in laughter. "So it <em> was </em> Tadashi! Wahahahaha! If it's Tadashi, that's fine! Come here, come play shogi with me!"</p><p>Kei blinked, absolutely incredulous. "Wh...what?" All of his animosity was gone. Yamaguchi smiled, trotting to sit across from him.</p><p>"I said if it's Tadashi, it's fine! I've always thought that. I thought you two would have been together by now so I was annoyed since you tried to go off and do whatever with all those pretty-boy Tokyo punks when you have a nice proper respectable small-town boy right here."</p><p>"So you're saying that all the hostility was just because of who it was?"</p><p>"I had every right to be hostile. This young man here is the perfect man! Now hurry up and get married, you're getting old."</p><p>Kei couldn't even be mad. He sighed in defeat, plopping next to Yamaguchi. This was going to be an exhausting time for both of them.</p><p>"If I win, you two have to get married ASAP."</p><p>"You haven’t beaten me since 2010, gramps." The ‘nice proper respectable small-town boy’ laughed.</p><p>"Now, I've been practicing, you shouldn't get so ahead of yourself."</p><p>Kei couldn’t believe it. There was absolutely no way. After shuffling to find the board they started setting up, leaving Kei to process the situation. It kind of made sense, he guessed. His grandfather wasn’t homophobic enough for Kei to feel hurt and rejected (Kei was Too Strong To Feel Hurt and Rejected anyway) but enough for him to be annoyed at the little comments and attitude his grandfather gave him. He didn’t doubt that he cared about him, just that he was from a different time. It was still unbelievable though, that he was so upbeat about it. What was he going to do when they “broke up?” But besides all that, Yamaguchi had definitely called him “Kei” earlier, right?</p><p>Yamaguchi beat his grandfather for the second time and the old man made a loud noise in frustration.</p><p>“Let’s play one more, ojii-san,” Yamaguchi urged. It looked like he was having fun. “Third time's the charm, right?”</p><p>“Okay. One more,” he grumbled in shallow irritation.</p><p>“Yay!”</p><p>As they reset the board, Kei stared pointedly at his “boyfriend’s” face. This was also a Yamaguchi he really liked. He liked an outward and smiling Yamaguchi, but the focused and reserved Yamaguchi was pretty cool, too. He didn’t talk, he only looked, eyes cool and calculating. Yeah, that was it. The shogi-playing Yamaguchi just looked really cool. His grandfather lost for the third time in a row, and Kei couldn’t help but laugh. It was always like this when they played.<br/>“You wanna play, Kei?” his grandfather asked hopefully, resetting the board.</p><p>“You know I can’t win against you, Ojiji.”</p><p>“I know, that’s why I asked,” he said, guffawing. Yamaguchi let out a little giggle.</p><p>“I know where I get my bad personality from,” He said with a laugh, causing his grandfather to swat at him, “Mom said she had stuff for us to do when we get back, so we should probably leave before it gets dark.”</p><p>“Oh! That’s right. I totally forgot. Well, ojii-san,” he stood, giving a little bow. “I had a lot of fun! I’ll come again soon so keep the board out and we can play next time!”</p><p>“Of course! You two make it home safe, now!”</p><p>“Bye, gramps. There’s chicken karaage in the fridge for you.”</p><p>“Tell my daughter I’m grateful!”</p><p>After saying goodbye to his aunt, grandmother, and managing to pry Yamaguchi away from Kaede, Kei slipped his shoes on and followed him out the door.</p><p>“That was kinda funny, wasn’t it, Tsukki?”</p><p>Now it was “Tsukki.” Was it because he said “Tsukki” a few times and then he hadn’t answered, and then he called his given name? Was it because everyone else was? Was it because he wanted to try it out? Either way, it was the first time he’d heard it from Yamaguchi when he wasn’t patronizing or joking around. Seriously? That was a weak spot he didn’t even know he had. He hummed in agreement, in too much of a good mood to even be mad at his grandfather.</p><p>They came to a crosswalk, and there was a mom and her kid. They were actually the first people they’d seen outside beside them today.</p><p>“Remember the rules for crossing the street?” </p><p>“Look left and right and hold hands when we go across!” she chirped back.</p><p>“That’s right! Great job!”</p><p>Yamaguchi smiled wide, clearly enchanted. He loved kids.</p><p>“Should we do it too?” Kei held his hand out. “I mean, to show good citizenship.”</p><p>Yamaguchi nodded, making a sarcastically serious face. “Well, of course. It’s the rules after all.”</p><p>The sign changed for them to walk, and Kei grinned to himself as he felt Yamaguchi’s fingers lace into his. Was he wrong to feel a little giddy? Maybe, but whatever. He deserved a reward for the fuckery he just dealt with at his grandfather’s house. Yamaguchi went quiet for a second, but it was probably because he was trying not to laugh. The girl and her mom went a different way and he was pretty sure he heard something like “<em> Even those grown-ups followed the rules! </em>”</p><p>Neither of them said anything about it, but Yamaguchi started rambling, so he was probably thinking about it.</p><p>“Cause she has like, a farm and stuff, so it’s pretty obvious that she would do composting, but I didn’t realize how difficult it was. It’s so complicated I never realized. She has like three gardens just in her front yard, though, can you believe? She has three in the front, four in the back, and two in her side yard.”</p><p>“That’s a lot. How many do you want?” he asked, even though he already knew the answer. He just liked hearing Yamaguchi go on and on, but didn’t want him to think he wasn’t listening. He wondered if Yamaguchi knew that he listened to every rant and tangent he’d ever gone on. He did seem surprised when he recalled information he’d said in passing or on a ramble session, but for Kei, wasn’t it just normal for him to remember? Even the stupid or trivial things, he'd remember them all.</p><p>“Well,” he said, unconsciously swinging their hands and gesturing with his free right hand. "Eventually when I get a house, I want to have a kind of big backyard.”</p><p>Big, but not too big, he followed along in his head. Not like, one you can get lost in or something.</p><p>“Well, big, but not too big. Not the kind you get lost in when you’re playing manhunt in and get scared cause it’s dark, cause I know my kids are gonna be just like us and do some stupid shit like that and get lost or something.”</p><p>Kei chuckled, recalling the one time the many times, actually, that they’d stayed over at his grandparents’ house and played manhunt with Kaede and Mamoru and his other cousins.</p><p>“You always hid with me, though,” he laughed and turned the corner to their house.</p><p>“Yeah, because it was big and scary and I was like, twelve! At least I didn’t trample Mimi-san’s flowers that one time.”</p><p>“Yeah, I thought I was gonna die that time.”</p><p>His house came into view and surely as he suspected, his mom was outside, doing something in the front yard with flowers.</p><p>“Hey boys!” she greeted with a smile, then eyed their hands. “Ooooh? How was your romantic stroll back?”</p><p>“Fine!” Yamaguchi chirped, kneeling down. He really didn’t miss a beat, huh? “What are you doing?”</p><p>“Just getting the flower garden back together. You came home at the perfect time! I could really use your help!”</p><p>Yamaguchi didn’t let his hand go until he had to put gloves on and when he thought Kei wasn’t looking, he smiled to himself. Kei could feel his ears burning again.</p><p>He really didn't want to think about it too hard.</p><p>*</p><p>“11:58!” Yamaguchi sang excitedly, walking circles around his bed. Kei, who could count the number of times he’d been awake after 10:30 on one hand, mumbled in agreement, turning on his side under his blanket. Unlike his energetic counterpart, he was a big fan of Getting Sufficient Sleep. Yamaguchi’s hyperactive side ran him like a motor, so he had no problem going to bed at ungodly one-digit hours. He did get tired out, though, when he was around people. So most of their sleepovers were Yamaguchi talking until he got tired out. He was always recounting the day or asking silly questions that were probably from the BuzzFeed quizzes he took during lull time. (It was Yamaguchi’s guilty pleasure and Kei took every chance he had to laugh at it). When had minutes become so slow?</p><p>“11:59!!! Tsukki!” he tapped rapidly on the bed since he couldn't shout. "One more minute!!"</p><p>"Won't it take some time to download, though?" He mumbled. </p><p>“Oh no!” Yamaguchi collapsed on top of him, sighing in disappointment. “I didn’t think about that.”</p><p>“Mm, hopefully, it’ll be quick,” he murmured, turning over on his back so that Yamaguchi was resting across his stomach. “That’s the most annoying part of when you buy games online.”</p><p>“<em> 12:00!! </em>” he kicked his feet, which were hanging off the bed. That’s what Kei guessed he was doing anyway, his glasses were off. “It’s downloading, Tsukki!”</p><p>“Mm, how long?” he could barely keep his eyes open at this point, especially since all he’d been through that day. </p><p>“27 minutes!” Yamaguchi scoffed, tossing Kei a sideways glance. “You’re not gonna make it that long, are you?”</p><p>“I can,” he protested, opening his eyes as wide as he could, which were most definitely bloodshot.</p><p>“You can’t,” he giggled, setting his switch down on the pillow and clambering under the covers. “Sleepyhead.”</p><p>Kei hissed as Yamaguchi’s cold limbs knocked against his. The only words he could get out in his tired stupor to express his disapproval were an accusatory: “You glacier!”</p><p>Yamaguchi only laughed again, huddling up to him. “It’s because you have a fan on in the middle of March.”</p><p>“I need noise.”</p><p>“You <em> are </em> noise.”</p><p>Kei was thinking at this point. Fragments of sentences strung together to form less than coherent thoughts, and he couldn’t really vocalize them well.</p><p>What he did know was that after what felt like a moment or two, Yamaguchi was warm. (He must’ve dozed off a little.) The screen lit up his face, and now he was facing away from him.</p><p>“How many minutes?” he mumbled, shifting. </p><p>“Three. I’m playing Zelda til it’s done.”</p><p>He only hummed in response, turning to lean into the warmth that was Yamaguchi. He felt almost melded to him, stomach pressed to his back, arm over his side, knees and legs slotting perfectly. It was the most secure he’d felt in a long time, and he let a sleepy sigh pass through his lips into Yamaguchi’s hair. What was he doing again? Oh, right, dreaming. He let his eyes fall shut, but held onto him as he drifted off to sleep.</p><p>***</p><p>“I think I should move back to my apartment,” Yamaguchi said quietly during breakfast.</p><p>“Eh? Why? Are you okay?” Kei’s mom sounded more than concerned, but he began to wonder if it was a little bit his fault. Well, it wasn’t particularly anybody’s fault. Sometimes people just need space, and Yamaguchi got overstimulated frequently, so quarantine was already hell no matter who he was spending it with. His brain started to push it and wonder if it had anything to do with how Yamaguchi had fallen asleep in his bed the other day (and the fact that his mother had come to wake them up like that). He seemed fine, he’d been talking his ear off about Animal Crossing since then, but he’d also been asking about it, instead of focusing on work. It was almost April and Almost April meant Almost May meant the end of the semester, and work was piling. He was definitely a distraction. </p><p>“Uh, well, you know...” his eyes wandered over to Tsukki, not quite in a “help me” way, but more of a tell that it was definitely at least a little bit his fault. Unluckily for them both, his mother was oh so keen on both of their body language.</p><p>“Oh, privacy, of course!” She sighed in relief. “Well, we’re all adults here, so we can talk about those things. It’s not like you have to stay here all the time, just tell me when you’re staying the night so I’m not worried.” Kei shifted, and they shared a look, because damn, wasn’t this embarrassing. “And of course, make sure you are being safe. I know you’re young, but you have to make sure you’re protec-”</p><p>“<em> Mom! </em>” his voice came out louder than he’d anticipated, and definitely cracked, and his ears were burning. Aki choked on his bread and tried to keep down his laughter.</p><p>“What?” she said, putting her hands up. “I know it’s weird to talk about, but it’s important. Engaging in open discussion is the healthiest thi-”</p><p>“I-we know that!”</p><p>Yamaguchi was almost fully hunched over into his bowl in embarrassment, face redder than he’d ever seen it.</p><p>“Okay, I’m just making sure,” she said, putting her things in the sink. “Your health is serious! And sexual health is important, too, so, you know, as a nurse and as a mother, it’s my job to tell you both,”</p><p>“<em> Mom, please, stop, </em>” he begged, putting his head in his hands.</p><p>Akiteru bursted out in laughter (and honestly, Kei hoped he choked).</p><p>“I have a lot of work to do, so I’m sorry, please excuse me,” Yamaguchi said even quieter than before.</p><p>Kei groaned, fully planting his face into the table.</p><p>This was the worst and he wanted to die.</p><p>Yamaguchi did, in fact, move back into his apartment, and the awkwardness hung over them still, even if he laughed about it.</p><p>“It was so awkward and we aren’t even having sex. It probably would be worse if we were, though, pfft,” Yamaguchi laughed, but he looked like he probably thought like that was a weird thing to say, so it was his job to clear it up.</p><p>“Yeah, now Akiteru is gonna make The Face every time I stay over here.”</p><p>He laughed again, tossing his bag down. “Yeah, he definitely is.”</p><p>“Why <em> are </em> you coming back, though?” he meant to make it nonchalant, but it came out pretty defensive and Kei wanted to punch himself.</p><p>“Well, you know,” he muttered, picking up a fidget toy from his desk. “Lots of things. It’s not like it’s your fault or anything, but I do actually need some privacy, and it’s hard to do work because...you know. It’s not bad, it’s just,” he put it down, twisting his fingers.</p><p>“You don’t have to say it nicely,” he said honestly, standing awkwardly in the doorway.</p><p>Yamaguchi sighed, tucking a strand of hair (that catches the light kinda nicely) behind his ear. “It’s like, this might be the ADHD speaking, but I have my work time brain, and I have my free time brain. And when I’m by myself, I have limited distractions, like, my switch, or laptop or phone. My free time brain is more controlled because it’s my pace, and I decide my day. But when I’m with living with people, where my free time brain is 1000% not up to me and I’m pulled in many different directions, because it’s not just me. And as much as I want to be with everyone, I need my space and I need time to get my work done.”</p><p>Kei nodded. It wasn't like he was hurt, he was just...sensitive? Why was he taking this so personally? Just because they were special didn't mean they were the exception. Being special didn't mean that his ADHD was magically gone.  Plus they were in the middle of a pandemic and their senior year and this was a very stressful time. He needed space, and if Kei was being honest, he probably did too. It might fix whatever was happening in his head lately.</p><p>"Yeah, I get that," was all he could really say because he did. </p><p>"Yeah, I just need space. And Tsukki, I do want to see you and stuff but..." he huffed, trying to choose his words carefully. "I think, we shouldn't in-person meet a lot for a while. Because of school and because of Corona."</p><p>"I know. It's a lot. Don't worry," he reassured him, patting his arm. "I get it, really. We can still text and stuff and my mom will make sure I bring food at least 8 times a week." Yamaguchi laughed.</p><p>"Yeah," he looked to the side. "And plus, this can be convenient? Maybe tell them we're having issues and need a break or something."</p><p>Kei blinked. "Huh?" What was he saying?</p><p>"For the breakup? I've got my reward already," he grinned, pulling out his switch.</p><p>"Oh, oh, yeah, right," his mind really was elsewhere, wasn't it? It had to be because of midterms. Yeah. His advanced Archaeological History professor went off on this one. "Anyway, just let me know if you're having trouble or need anything. Even things like laundry or dishes or helping pick up your room." (They did things like that for each other. When Kei was struggling really bad, and when executive dysfunction was kicking Yamaguchi's ass. Mental illness was a bitch, and sometimes, it just helped to know you can ask for help.)</p><p>He beamed and stepped in for a hug. "Thanks, Tsukki."</p><p>"Yeah," he hummed, setting his cheek on Yamaguchi's head. "Make sure you're eating and sleeping. Set timers and stuff during cram sessions."</p><p>"If you need anything, too. A break or stuff like that. I'm just a phone call and a block away," he released him with a pat.</p><p>"Thanks, Yamaguchi."</p><p>It felt like he was stalling a little bit, the way they both stayed silent as he lingered in the doorway. </p><p>"Make sure you eat,"</p><p>"You said that already," he laughed.</p><p>"Okay."</p><p>"Okay."</p><p>Kei turned to leave, only to walk right smack into the door frame because <em> damn </em> were they low in this apartment complex. ("They're normal people-sized, Tsukki, you're just a giant." "No, it's for small people like you." "Just because I'm not 2 meters doesn't mean I'm short! I'm taller than average!! You're just too tall!") Yamaguchi snorted and tried to look more concerned than amused.</p><p>"Are you okay?"</p><p>"I'm fine," he held up a hand. "See you later."</p><p>"See you."</p><p>The walk home was kind of a pinch back to reality. He laughed a little, that he’d almost forgotten. There was an end to this game.</p><p>“Oh? Not staying the night, loverboy?” Akiteru teased as he took his shoes off.</p><p>“No,” he said, being purposefully hostile.</p><p>“Woah, woah, Kei,” his older brother sat up, looking caught off guard. “Are you alright?”</p><p>“We’re taking a break, so, don’t bring it up.” He doesn’t bother to check his brother’s face for effectiveness, but when he was left alone for the rest of the night, he figured it was pretty convincing. He almost felt a little bad, using his kindness to put a nice believable end to this lie.</p><p>Almost.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>OKAY. wow, alright i'm sorry that took so long im working on two other tsukkiyama fics and a bokuaka fic but im setting up a writing schedule and im settled into my classes, so! see yall soon hopefully, ldfjsk<br/>love you guys, and thank you so much for reading this garbo fire</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. It's Been A Minute</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tsukki drinks, vandalizes, and gets advice from two himbos.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey y'all. I'm gonna be real with you. I am so sorry. It's been so long. I hope you guys still return to this fic and see I've updated it. This is not my best work, but I found a way to tie most of the plot points together that I wanted to. After I finish, this is the chapter that I'm probably going to revise the most, and believe me I will be revising, because I did not do a great job on subplots in this bitch. Anyway. The songs for today are Swing Lynn - Twin Cabins and My One and Only Love - Johnny Hartman/John Coltrane. Also if you want the link to their playlist I will definitely link that next time when I upload. Looking forward to what you have to say about this chapter! Only one or two more to go! also unbeta'd we die like men</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was good that Kei reigned himself in, though. He was digging up some old feelings for sure. Of course their game wouldn’t last forever, and he needed to prepare himself for that. Yamaguchi would find someone (probably a girl; he had a preference for them and really wanted kids) and fall in love and buy a house with three gardens and a kind of big but not totally big backyard and then Kei would sometimes visit and his kids would call him Uncle Kei, and he’d definitely bring them sweets even when Yamaguchi and his wife (who he’d undoubtedly get along with; anyone Yamaguchi picked was bound to be amazing) scolded him for bringing too much last time. That was realistic. That was way more likely than this kind of lifestyle continuing forever. </p><p>But still! He couldn’t help but fantasize a little! Coming home after a long day of explaining crumbly thousand-year-old relics (that he happened to Adore Very Much) to his husband (who he also happened to Adore Very Much.) They couldn't get married in Miyagi, so maybe they’d move to Shibuya or something. He pictured his stupid cheesy happy life, smiling like a stupid cheesy happy idiot.</p><p>This was so stupid. He was so stupid. Why couldn’t he stop smiling? He sunk lower into the bath. Was his brain turning to garbage? No matter what this weird thing happening in his chest was, if he willed it hard enough, it would go away, just like high school, and just like middle school and every other time before that. Middle school wasn’t his fault, though. He blamed that on puberty. In middle school, you had crushes on all your friends, like, three separate times; it was seriously a disease. Or that was what Hinata said, anyway. Yamaguchi was his only friend back then, so he couldn’t really fact check it, but since he did have little weird bouts where he thought he had a thing for him (which he didn’t then and DEFINITELY didn’t now) he figured it probably was just middle school disease like Hinata said. The fact that it kept going away was proof that he didn’t really like Yamaguchi, just that he was projecting romance onto his friend because he also wanted to fall in love. Right? Yeah. That was it. Because it would be convenient. </p><p>He did want to fall in love; most people did. He used to believe he didn’t, or rather, he just couldn’t, but that thought died the first time he heard Yamaguchi ugly-laugh in the sixth grade. Sometimes, if he got Yamaguchi going enough, he would snort, and no matter how much new music he found every year, he’d never heard a more wonderful sound. It did take him a long time for him to genuinely let go and laugh, though. Yamaguchi was just as guarded as he was, back then. He’d grown into such a wonderful person. He let his mind wander for a little longer before he was brought back by a violent pounding on the bathroom door.</p><p>“<em> Kei! I swear to god you’ve been in there forever! I am gonna shit myself! </em>”</p><p> Like most of the peace in his life, it was disturbed. (By Akiteru.)</p><p>“I’m almost done!” He yelled back, getting up and throwing on a towel. He unplugged the bath, rolling his eyes. He was so annoying.</p><p>“<em> Just get dressed in your room! </em>”</p><p>He grabbed his clothes irately and threw the door open, stomping to his room.</p><p>“You’re so annoying!”</p><p>Well. He thought to himself. Daydreaming didn’t do anything for anyone, and daydreams didn’t come true. They’d laugh about all this someday; Yamaguchi would marry a nice girl and Kei would be happy for him. It was his job, as his best friend, so he needed to stop feeling so sick to his stomach about it. The annoying voice in his head, which was starting to sound an awful lot like his own, chimed in with a familiar phrase:</p><p>
  <em> You know. </em>
</p><p>He really didn't want to think about it too much. </p><p>So again. He deliberately tried not to.</p><hr/><p>The separation wasn't as weird as he thought it'd be. He played it up a little for Akiteru, like Yamaguchi had said, but it was mostly the same as being at college (but louder and with better food). He did really try, for Yamaguchi's sake not to go over there, (Akiteru made house runs every week) He was also getting used to quarantine, even though this was usually what his break was like when he came home. He was feeling a bit cooped up, but not because he particularly wanted to go anywhere. He didn’t have the desperation to go outside and get sun like Yamaguchi and Hinata had, but he had gotten used to them pulling him along. It was like they thrived on the sun; they were practically plants.</p><p>April came quickly; it rained and rained and rained. He watched it, on his lunch breaks and the time he did have a breather from his final thesis, but it just confirmed his gloom, the overbearing <em>shhhhh </em>accompanying the other useless noise in his brain.</p><p>There was a warm day in the middle of the month, where the sun was out. Akiteru dragged Kei outside, dancing in their small backyard. Kei thought that they were all sick, those photosynthesizers. There were too many around him. His mother took a break with them, helping drag Kei outside. She was most of the muscle, if he was being honest.</p><p>“You need vitamin D! You definitely are deficient! Just look at you!” she scolded, and really who was he to argue with that. He was usually vitamin D deficient, though, so he chalked up her insistence to her being a photosynthesizer, too. They did some stretches and had lunch outside (He ate a simple onigiri, his appetite was still shit). </p><p>“See? It’s nice, right?” his mother grinned, elbowing him. “Aren’t you glad you came outside?” He really couldn’t lie; it was nice. But it was certainly nothing like Yamaguchi and them went on about, <em> the feeling of the sun kissing your skin </em> , <em> rays gently sitting on your shoulders </em>and so on. He remembered one of Yamaguchi’s many, many monologues about the sun, and how nice it felt when spring came, but the sun was the sun. Weather was weather. Plus, early spring was so finicky.</p><p>“I didn’t put sunscreen on,” he said, trying to force down a smile. </p><p>“Shut up,” she rolled her eyes and sipped some of his tea.</p><p>He gave up and smiled. It felt like a motion only his body remembered how to do, old and creaky and lopsided, but he smiled. He blamed his sudden lift in mood on his body thanking him for the vitamin D, and they finished their lunch, talking about stuff that didn’t really matter.</p><p>“Okay,” his mom sighed. “I gotta go back to work.” She walked up the stairs to the engawa, and konked Kei on the head. “Go <em> in </em> the sun, idiot son. Vitamin D deficiency can cause osteoporosis, you know~. Won’t kill you to move around some, too!” </p><p>“Hey, let’s toss a ball around!” Akiteru suggested, looking the most energetic he'd been since they’d been home.</p><p>“Absolutely not,” he said, leaning against the house. </p><p>“Ugh, I miss Tadashi,”</p><p>“He wouldn’t play with you either.”</p><p>“Yes he would. Tadashi is a good boy.” Akiteru sulked, flopping back on the sheet. “Plus I asked him earlier. He said he would’ve if he didn’t have so much work today.”</p><p>“How was he?” Kei asked quietly, making busy work of reshaping his uneaten onigiri.</p><p>“Alright. He looked like he was going through it, though. Probably just needs some sun. He told me that he’d sit in the window for a while since he has nowhere to go outside.”</p><p>Kei didn’t say anything, molding the ball of rice into a cube. He felt a wave of something anxious-adjacent pass through his body, and held his breath. Akiteru was gonna say something troublesome.</p><p>“What happened, Kei?”</p><p>He put the deformed riceball back on his plate, staring at his hands.</p><p>“Nothing,” he murmured decisively, and Akiteru, who could always tell when he was lying, but could never call him out on it, bit his lip.</p><p>“Okay,” he nodded.</p><p>“Wanna toss a ball around?” he asked, trying to minimize the simple disinterest that always seeped into his voice. </p><p>Akiteru lit up, but Kei knew that he knew it was a diversion.</p><p>“Yeah,” he said anyway, smiling wide and getting up from the blanket. As soon as he did, though, the sun was suddenly covered by a cloud. As if his secret bad mood had summoned it, little wet drops made dents in the dry dirt of their backyard.</p><p>“<em> Noooooooooooo! </em>” Akiteru groaned, covering his face. “This is totally not fair!” He picked up the blanket and hopped up on the engawa, looking totally distraught as the sudden rain started to pour. </p><p>Kei chuckled at the irony and Aki swiveled to gesture wildly at him.</p><p>“You owe me! You owe me one! You promised.”</p><p>“Nope. One time offer. Limited edition.”</p><p>His brother stared out at the rain sadly, sighing. “Whatever. I should’ve known that the gods would sabotage any attempt of Kei having fun with me.” He stalked off to the sliding doors. “My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.”</p><p>Kei laughed as he left. He was really ready to go play with him, too. He hadn’t been practicing volleyball much. Poor Nii-chan. He was always losing, huh? It was still warm out, though, which was strange. He hadn’t seen a warm rain since the summer of his last year of high school. It was an important summer. He closed his eyes, listening to the hushing of the raindrops.</p><p>The third years spent a lot of time together, but there were many times where it was just them two, eating popsicles in his backyard, and staying up late in his room playing videogames. It’s a time he yearned for, sunburns and bug bites, too. That summer, when he learned that they’d finally be split up come spring. It was a devastating realization, even though he knew that Yamaguchi's ambitions were grander than his, and Sendai didn't have the tech program he needed. Not to mention that Yamaguchi's mother had practically cornered him into going far away from Kei. He remembered wishing that summer would last forever, as unbearably hot and loud as it was.</p><p>He should call Yamaguchi.</p><p>Without hesitating, he was scrolling through his contacts, but before he could even get to "Ya" Yamaguchi called him first. He grinned, hitting the green button and putting it to his ear.</p><p>"<em> Moshimoshi~? Have I reached the Tsukishima residence?" </em></p><p>"Ah, yes, this is Tsukishima speaking."</p><p>"<em> Hey, Tsukki, </em>" Yamaguchi laughed, and Kei smiled immediately.</p><p>"Hey, Yamaguchi."</p><p>"<em> It was so nice outside until it suddenly started raining! It was so sudden haha! But it's warm! It's a warm rain! </em>"</p><p>"I know," he said, holding his hand out to let the warm raindrops wet it. "I got nostalgic."</p><p>"<em> Me, too. </em>"</p><p>Kei closed his eyes, leaning his head against the house.</p><p>"<em> I didn't want that summer to end, </em>" he said warmly, and Kei knew exactly what expression he was wearing.</p><p>"Me neither," he confessed, smile stuck permanently to his face. "I tried so hard to stay up so I could get the most out of it."</p><p>"<em> I know! Haha. You were so tired the whole time. Remember when-pffft! Remember when Hinata drew on you with dry erase marker and he thought it would come off easily and then you-pffft. Hahaha! </em>"</p><p>Kei scoffed. "God, he's so fucking dumb. And you let them both do that."</p><p>"<em> It was in the name of shenanigans, Tsukki. </em> " He defended. " <em> Besides, I'd never been able to prank you with other people before. It was liberating to share that privilege. </em>"</p><p>"You were a team captain. That wasn't very captain-like of you."</p><p>"<em> High school boy first. Team captain second. Cancels out, PEMDAS. </em>"</p><p>Kei chuckled, turning his head to the side. He missed Yamaguchi's voice.</p><p>“You were a pretty good captain,” he reminisced. “All your juniors really liked you.”</p><p>“<em> It was hard to tell, sometimes. </em>”</p><p>“Are you kidding? The first years were all practically in love with you.”</p><p>“<em> Well, you have an eye for that sort of thing, </em>” he said cheekily, switching something around on his end.</p><p>“For what?” he asked, wrinkling his nose.</p><p>“<em> Knowing who’s ‘practically in love with me.’ </em>” he imitated the way Kei said it, and again, he knew what face he was pulling. He wondered if he’d been found out, and exhaled out of his nose.</p><p>“Well, it’s easy to tell with first year boys. Especially with that one boy, what was his name? Taguchi?” </p><p>Yamaguchi laughs. “<em> Aww, Nobu-kun?? </em>”</p><p>“See, it was because you called him by his given name that he got so attached to you!! If you’d just called him Taguchi it wouldn’t have been so bad.”</p><p>“<em> I felt so bad though, he even confessed to me at graduation. It was so sad, I think he cried. </em>”</p><p>“Everyone was crying, though; it was graduation.”</p><p>“<em> Yeah, that was a Time for sure...look at us now, Tsukki! We’re graduating college! </em>”</p><p>“Yeah. Still planning on skipping?”</p><p>“<em> Yeah, it’s sad that we won’t be able to go to Osaka, though. I really wanted to go to the music box museum. It was supposed to be such a good day! Fuck 2020. </em>”</p><p>“Yeah. I’ll take you for your birthday, if everything’s fine by then.”</p><p>There was a pause, and Kei watched the water travel through the gutter.</p><p>“<em> We’ve been through some pretty outrageous things, huh? </em>”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“<em> Sorry I couldn’t go to your last game. I was gonna surprise you and everything. I bought even more merch than last time. </em>”</p><p>Kei smiled again. Oh.</p><p>“Thanks, Yamaguchi.”</p><p>“<em> Of course. Take it to heart, too. I was skipping my lab hours, and everything. Anyway, </em> ” more shifting noises. Was it page-flipping? “ <em> I have hella homework to do. I’ll talk to you later, though. </em>”</p><p>“Okay,” he said easily. “Keep doing your best on your work, okay?”</p><p>“<em> Okay, </em> ” he laughed. “ <em> You too, Tsukki. I know you’re doing your best. </em>”</p><p>“Yeah. Don’t get too caught up in that yearbook. It’ll be nighttime before you know it.”</p><p>“I can’t hel-wait, did I tell you I was looking? Is our psychic link still this strong?”</p><p>“I know just know you. <em> Ghk </em>-”</p><p>He caught sight of his brother on the other side of the glass, eyes narrowed and giggling at him and jumped out of surprise. Jesus. He didn’t know what his face looked like. How long had he been there? He got up, collecting his plate and things.</p><p>“<em> Eh? Tsukki? </em>”</p><p>“Uh, yeah. I just gotta kill Akiteru. Good luck with your work.”</p><p>“<em> Good luck with your assassination attempt! </em>”</p><p>He snorted, hitting the end button, and sprinted to the door. Akiteru screamed and disappeared into the hallway.</p><p>Warm rain, huh?</p><hr/><p>As it got deeper and deeper into April, the work piled up, and Kei found himself unable to leave his room. He was staying up late and giving himself carpal tunnel and forgetting to eat unless his mother literally kicked his door down. His notifications were widely ignored, and the amount of reading he had to do made him want to scratch his eyes out. But hey. He was an academic. He worked well under stress and did his business. On the downtime he got into some music composition, working on minor compositions and taking up short mixing jobs. </p><p>He buried himself in his final assignments, hoping to push off any thoughts he didn’t wanna think about, and it worked because before he knew it, it was May. One week. He had one week left in his entire college career, but for some reason, it didn't feel real. His April was strangely filled with conversations with the groupchat, talks with Bokuto, Kuroo, Hinata, and god forbid, Kageyama when he was in the room. All despite his heavy workload. Yamaguchi called him almost every Saturday but it was still kind of distant. He was coping just fine, he supposed. Yamaguchi often spoke of this sort of relationship he had with people who he didn't directly see, and it wasn't exactly the "out of sight out of mind" part that Kei related to; more an ability to distance himself. But this time was filled with a strange restlessness that he didn't feel at college. Maybe it was because he was in a walking distance? Because while Yamaguchi's was a kind of "out of sight out of mind", his was more like an "it can't be helped?" So now that it could be helped, he was feeling restless? </p><p>He knew this was all just mental gymnastics to avoid directly saying he missed Yamaguchi, but giving up and acknowledging it would make him feel weak in an absolutely co-dependent way. And that would force him to realize ignoring it was him Not Coping so he Just Wasn't Going To. No more feelings for Tsukishima Kei today. Time to fact check the Wikipedia page for Archaeopteryx. He hadn't done that in a while.</p><p>Okay. He was not coping.</p><p>His phone dinged and he groaned, slapping his glasses on his face. It was a Line Message from Bokuto.</p><p>
  <em> &lt;&lt;&lt;Hey, hey, Tsukki-kun! Did you see the chat? </em>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;&gt;&gt;No I have it muted</b>
</p><p>
  <em> &lt;&lt;&lt;Well everyone else is busy right now so we can call if you want but it'l just be me hahahahah! </em>
</p><p>Oh shit, it was time, huh? He thought about it for a second. He wasn't busy, and Bokuto was a lot at once, (Mr. Pushy Tell Me Everything) but he really was a good guy. Yeah. Why the hell not? He set his phone up on his desk and called. It turned out that "Why the hell not?" was the worst attitude to have with Bokuto (and anybody could've told him that, really,) because the first thing he said was:</p><p>"Hey, Tsukki-kun!!! Have you made up with the boyfriend yet??" </p><p>Kei cringed, turning his volume down. Bokuto was probably the only person he knew that spoke in Exclamation Point. He groaned once he finally managed to translate to Japanese.</p><p>"He's not my boyfriend, Bokuto-san, we've been over this."</p><p>"<em> Well, I know, but, he's kinda actually your boyfriend a little bit, right?? </em>"</p><p>Kei groaned again. He learned first hand, (and many, many warnings from Akaashi, Looking Out For His Wellbeing) that it was much easier to just Tell The Truth. Bokuto had a superpower almost, of knowing exactly what was really happening, and Kei always figured it was compensation from the gods for giving him <em> that </em> personality.</p><p>"He's not, but..."</p><p>And with those three words, Bokuto grinned knowingly, still waiting for him to finish. He knew. He knew so bad, and it was just the worst thing he'd ever felt because he was finally talking with someone about Yamaguchi transparently for the first time and it was fucking <em> Bokuto </em>.</p><p>"<em> Ughh </em>. He's not, but, I don't know. I've had partners before and none of them really come close to the type of relationship we have. Like, a...he'll always be more important to them than me...kind of feeling..."</p><p>Bokuto bit his lip, trying very hard (and failing very hard) to mask his amusement.</p><p>"Bokuto-san, please, spare me," he muttered, running his hands over his face.</p><p>He belly-laughed (as he did) and simply said. "<em> I didn't say anything yet, Tsukki-kun! </em>"</p><p>"Okay, I give up. Share with me your century-old wisdom, Bokuto-san."</p><p>He belly laughed again and Kei felt so, so young again. (Fifteen, to be precise.)</p><p>“<em> Well, </em> ” he said, grinning widely. “ <em> As they say, conversation is key! If you don’t talk to your partner, they won’t know anything! Did you talk to him about your feelings? </em>”</p><p>“No,” he muttered, fiddling with his hands.</p><p>“<em> You and Tadashi-kun grew up together, right? So you have a good idea about each other's thoughts and stuff, but...you still can’t read each other's minds. Akaashi is super smart and knows what I’m thinking half of the time, but, he’s not a telekinesis alien. </em>”</p><p>Kei knee-jerk snorted, since he meant telepathic, and not telekinetic, but he was right. Yamaguchi read him so well, he’d just assumed he shouldn’t have to verbalize so much. He never did. </p><p>“<em> And conversation is important with yourself, too. </em>”</p><p>Kei looked to the ground, picking at the peeling wood on his desk. He knew he did not like this line of thought.</p><p>“<em> Mm, it’s okay not to know. Listening to yourself and to your feelings is important in figuring it out, though. Since I’ve known you it seems like you bottle things up, Tsukki-kun. Like it’s hard for you to get serious without a push, even when it’s things that really matter. </em>”</p><p>Kei squinted, wondering when this became a session about His Feelings and when Bokuto Koutarou Olympic Volleyball Athlete became his therapist. Bokuto waited for his response, but there was none, since he felt kinda embarrassed that he could call something like that out so easily.</p><p>"<em> It's the thing Akaashi says, about being honest. He says 'ah, so honesty' and about how being honest with yourself is the hardest honesty to do, but the most important. I don't really get it though...how can you lie to yourself, if you're you, you know? Like, you </em> know <em> ... </em>"</p><p>Kei dropped the peeling desk chips and took another breath. He was already an adult. Didn't he have a mature internal dialogue set up? He was honest with himself. (His subconscious laughed.) Well, maybe not completely honest, but who <em> was </em>? In his defense, it was very hard to have a genuine internal conversation with a salty, sarcastic, commitment-phobic bitch who was always shrinking back the second things got serious.</p><p>"<em> But, I do get like, when he talks about self-reflection. I do that kind of thing all the time. I think you should do that, Tsukki-kun. Like...check-ins. Just time where you sit down and conversate with yourself and really think and be like, hmmm, is that the truth? How do I really feel about this....hmmm...and you don't have to 'hmm' but I do. That's how Akaashi knows I'm doing it and he lets me be for a second. He's so smart like that. I love him. </em>"</p><p>Kei stared at his hands, feeling weirdly insecure and Bokuto must’ve noticed, because he said gently.</p><p>“<em> Tsukki-kun. It’s okay to be unsure of your feelings and to not know where you stand. It’s okay to be nervous about getting hurt or hurting someone, but you can’t stay behind the line forever. Eventually, they’re gonna blow the whistle, and you’re gonna have to serve. If it’s a jump serve or an underhand or whatever, you gotta do something. As long as your feelings make their way to the other side of the court. </em>”</p><p>The volleyball metaphors made more sense than they should, and he was feeling a lot more convinced that all the Not Wanting To Think About it was coming to bite him in the ass.</p><p>“Yeah,” was all he could manage, playing with the toothpick-esque chips he’d made by picking at his desk. </p><p>“<em> Anyways, speaking of volleyball! Have you been practicing? I was practicing receives against my apartment building wall, yesterday and I met a bird! It was really nice, because I hadn’t met one in a while. </em>”</p><p>It felt kind, almost, how Bokuto changed the subject, and he was so good at that, but like Yamaguchi, that was definitely an ADHD thing. He figured he’d expended all of his godly wisdom and now needed to talk about this bird he met or else he’d combust.</p><p>“What kind of bird was it?” he asked, and let everything he’d said digest while he listened to him ramble on. He expected to have gotten something more about his feelings from the conversation, but all he got was that he should just go sort through his own thoughts about it. The thoughts that he’d <em> been </em> pushing down, most likely. But he knew that.</p><p>As much as it hurt his pride to admit, he was jealous of people like Bokuto, who could be so open and up-front about their emotions. He was surrounded by them, and yet still, as an adult, even after all these years, it was a quality he hadn’t absorbed.</p><hr/><p>His thoughts crept up on him during the day, when he let his mind wander. He hadn’t been intentionally thinking about it, or “conversating” with himself like Bokuto had told him to. Everytime he tried to, he felt too stupid to keep it up. <em> Hey, Kei, </em> he mocked, <em> oh, hey, Kei? What’s up? Just thinking about your best friend again for the billionth time in the hour? </em>Bokuto’s advice flustered him so much that he forgot how to think properly, and all he could do was bury his head in work. Be honest with himself? What kind of Coming Of Age Movie shit was that. Everyone had things they lied about until the grave. This would be his, and it was just going to be like that. He’d put on his big boy shoes and be a fucking adult about it. People didn’t always feel the same way about each other, and that was fine.</p><p>After being unable to stop thinking about it while writing his works cited pages, he decided to get a second opinion. Someone who was a better expert at Tadashi.</p><p>“<em> Yoooo! Stupid-shima! What demon came over you to call my phone. </em>”</p><p>He took a deep breath, summoning all of his patience and swallowing all of his pride.</p><p>“Do you have a second? I need advice.”</p><p>Hinata slid back into frame, eyes shining. “<em> Of course! I am the best person for advice, in all my infinite bff knowledge. </em> ” he chuckled, balancing a pencil between his nose and his top lip. Kei regrets even entertaining this thought. “ <em> It </em> is <em> about Tadashi, isn’t it? </em>”</p><p>“Yeah. I don’t know, I just need to like...talk through some things, and you’re his best friend, so...”</p><p>“<em> So, what? Are you just gonna whine about how you never liked your previous boyfriends and now you’re experiencing emotions for the first time and you don’t know how to cope? </em>”</p><p>Kei blinked, stunned into silence. Clocked.</p><p>“Yeah,” Hinata said, giving him a look as he put down his pencil. “I know shit.”</p><p>“I mean, it’s not like I didn’t like my previous boyfriends, I liked them.” he protested, feeling very vulnerable. “They were cute and nice and we had fun, but...yeah, I never felt like, I don’t know. They didn’t make my heart freak out or anything or like, I-<em> Jesus, </em> this is so embarrassing, I can’t believe I’m saying this out loud.”</p><p>“<em> No! Keep going! You called me already and you’re already talking about it, so just keep going. </em>”</p><p>He groaned. He couldn’t believe he was actually saying these words. And to Hinata, of all people.</p><p>“I don’t think I was ever serious about them,” he grumbled, scribbling on the bottom of his paper. “I didn’t want to shout it from the rooftops or anything. I always kept it to myself.”</p><p>“<em> Dude, </em>” Hinata snickered, looking absolutely incredulous.</p><p>“This was stupid. I’m hanging up.” he reached for his phone, prompting Hinata to shout in protest.</p><p>“<em> No, no nononono! Hey, okay! I’m not judging you, I’m just saying! </em> ” He gave him a look, dropping his shoulders. He made a laughing-choking sound, covering his face. “ <em> No, okay, hold on. I just, wow. </em> ” he gathered himself, taking a breath. “ <em> What does it feel like compared to back then? Do you wanna shout it from the rooftops, now? </em>”</p><p>Kei made a noise, scrunching his face up in embarrassment. “No, idiot! I’m just saying...” he huffed, looking back down at his notebook and scribbling some more. “I spent a lot of my time embarrassed and secretive about the fact that I was gay, and...with him it's never felt like that. If we're being honest...they were all stand-ins for him, anyway. Most of them...even had freckles, so...”</p><p>When he looked up, face burning, Hinata was in even more disbelief than before.</p><p>“<b> <em>Dude</em> </b> <em> . </em>”</p><p>He rolled his eyes. “Listen, all I’m saying is that I get bored and annoyed eventually of everyone but him. It’s just right with him, and it isn’t right if it isn’t him, and that’s how it’s always been with everything, so.”</p><p>“<em>This is the nicest, most genuine I've ever heard you talk, what the fuck. </em>”</p><p>“I won't ever say anything nice about you, so you don't have to get used to it.”</p><p>Hinata raised his eyebrows. “<em> I don’t think you know who you’re talking to. </em>”</p><p>Kei scoffed, repositioning his phone. “You’re like a meter tall, what are you gonna do?”</p><p>“<em> Snitch to Tadashi, </em>” he countered immediately, sipping his smoothie. </p><p>“I know where you live.” he shot back.</p><p>Hinata laughed, setting down his smoothie down and sitting on his hands.</p><p>“<em> No, but seriously. I’ve never heard you say a bad thing about Tadashi, and I don't know...if you talk about him like that it just, you know, it says something about you...</em>”</p><p>“Like what? I like him? Cause I kinda already gathered that.”</p><p>“<em> Do you want my Official Professional Doctor Hinata Shouyou diagnosis? </em>” he asked, stroking his bare chin like an official professional idiot.</p><p>Kei rolled his eyes. “Yes.”</p><p>“<em> Well! My Official Professional Doctor Hinata Shouyou Official Diagnosis is, cue the drumroll! </em>” he struck a pose.</p><p>“You said ‘official’ twice.”</p><p>“<em> Cue the drumroll! </em>”</p><p>“I’m not doing that.”</p><p>“<em> In my expert professional opinion: I diagnose you with gay. </em>”</p><p>“Hinata.”</p><p>He groaned, seemingly exasperated. “<em> What </em> ?! <em> I mean, I can tell you about subtext or this or that but isn’t the most important thing how you feel? You already know anything I can tell you about Tadashi, so, why don’t you just talk to him yourself? </em>”</p><p>“Well...”</p><p>“<em> God, Stupidshima, you’re such a noob! Still on your first love~! </em>”</p><p>“I am hanging up and blocking you on every platform.”</p><p>The screen froze for a second as a square got added.</p><p>“<em> Hey, hey, hey! Shou-kun, Tsukki-kun! </em>”</p><p>Kei groaned, covering his face. “My problems have multiplied.”</p><p>“<em> What are we talking about! </em>”</p><p>“Don’t-”</p><p>“<em> Tadashi is Stingyshima’s first love! </em>”</p><p>“<em> Uoooooooo! I knew it! I'm still on my first love, too though! </em>”</p><p>“<em> What is love if not a rush of chemicals? </em>” he heard, as another bedhead bastard was added to his list of troublesome fucks that had no business knowing any of his emotions.</p><p>“<em> Shut up, Kuroo, you’re just mad because Akaashi tells me he loves me every day and Kenma has only said he liked you one time. </em>”</p><p>“<em> And it was a mistake, frankly, </em>” he heard Kenma say from the background.</p><p>“<em> There’s like, rush of chemical love and like, Love. </em>” Hinata said, fidgeting with his magnetic rocks. “<em>Like. Yacchan was a rush of chemicals love and stupid idiot Bakageyama is soulmate shit.</em>”</p><p>“<em> Well, actually, scientifically- </em>”</p><p>“<em> Shut the fuck up. </em>” Kenma interrupted Kuroo, and Bokuto laughed.</p><p>Swallowing his pride again, god, this was so unlike him, he managed to ask, “How do you know, though? That it’s real? And not a rush of chemicals, or whatever.”</p><p>“<em> Hmm, </em> ” Bokuto thought about it for a second. “ <em> It’s kinda slowly building, but there are times when you just think, ‘Wow, I love Akaashi.’ well, you won’t think about Akaashi, but- you aren’t, right? You can’t have him! I have the papers, so he can’t return me anyway! </em>”</p><p>“I’m not after your husband, Bokuto-san.”</p><p>“<em> Okay, good, cause, okay, anyway, what was the question? Oh, right, yeah, so, there’s just a time...It’s a special moment! When it feels like you’re the only two people in the world! And everything fades away! That warmth in your chest when you look at your beloved! That’s the moment!  That's when you're hooked!</em>”</p><p>He got a strange sense of deja vu, trying to let Bokuto’s words settle.</p><p>“<em> Wow! Bokuto-san that’s so cool!!!! </em>”</p><p>“That’s pretty cliche,” he challenged, but gave up quickly, because if anyone was genuinely in love it was Bokuto and Akaashi. But still. Those two had a Love Story. Real fairy tale romance movie shit. Kei was just Kei. That wasn’t the type of guy he was.</p><p>That’s when you’re hooked, huh?</p><p>Tuning out Hinata’s rambling about how he wanted nothing more than to go outside just to go, (and Kuroo being a smartass about how long you need to stand in the sun to make enough vitamin D) he bit his lip. Something had to give, right? Bokuto and Kuroo eventually logged off, having dumb adult things to do, and he was left as he started. with just Hinata again. Except he was not making a prideful face. He looked pretty awkward, borderline perturbed.</p><p>“<em> Anyway, Tsukishima, I was just... </em> ” Hinata scratched his head, looking to the side. “ <em> Did you honestly think this through? Like, how did you think this was gonna end? </em>”</p><p>“...huh?”</p><p>“<em> Like, childhood friends pretend to fake date because of a mishap! What will happen~? You know? It’s a pretty common cliche in romance books and stuff, so, I just, hhh, nevermind. </em>”</p><p>Kei furrowed his eyebrows. What was he talking about?</p><p>“<em> Just...I know you have your hands full with yourself, but, don’t forget to think about Tadashi’s feelings too. </em>”</p><p>He bit back his knee-jerk defensive remark, (he was not a teenager anymore) and nodded. </p><p>“Yeah. You’re right.” He stares at his hands. “I’m really expecting a lot of patience from him.”</p><p>Hinata blinked, then made a disgusted face. “<em> Ugh, I hate emotionally mature Tsukishima. It’s so much easier to deal with you when you’re emotionally stunted. </em>”</p><p>“Shut up.”</p><p>“<em> There we go. </em>”</p><hr/><p>He cleared his head from the advice as he finished up his final paper, lucky that he did a majority of the work earlier on. Finishing up his revisions, he felt the fluttery giddiness of finishing an assignment as he finished his last final, and zoomed to submit it to his professor. After hitting the button (and refreshing to confirm his submission) he let out his held breath, flopping back on the floor. He was done. He was done and finished and that was it. He heaved himself up and opened his door, feeling drained and in need of food, and walked out into the hallway.</p><p>“Done?” his brother and his mother asked in twin enthusiasm, and Kei raised a fist in victory, and they cheered. </p><p>“Sekihan for dinner?” Akiteru pressed, and Kei nodded.</p><p>“I deserve it.”</p><p>“Let’s drink, too!” his mom cheered, and Akiteru groaned.</p><p>He sat at the table with his family to decompress, and the spot that Yamaguchi sat felt so empty. He wanted to call him and ask him to eat.</p><p>“<em>Sorry, Tsukki, </em> ” was the response, melancholy and familiar. “<em>I’m not finished until Friday. </em>”</p><p>He’d never had sekihan without Yamaguchi. It felt wrong, and he let his mind wander, loosened up with sake. He would tell him, next time.</p><hr/><p>Kei ran a hand through his hair. Should he text first? There was no way Yamaguchi forgot, was there? He definitely would have at least put it in his calendar? He had to be reminded by the e-mails, right? Classes just ended last week and they still hadn’t seen each other. Was he going for a natural fade-out? It kind of seemed like that, from what Akiteru was saying lately, that Yamaguchi “let some things slip” about seeing him “as a friend better and maybe breaking up but don’t tell Tsukki, I’m not sure,” and because Akiteru was a good brother, he snitched, and it was kind of hard for him not to laugh. If Kei was being honest, (which he was trying to do more) he really didn’t want to end so soon, or rather, he now wanted to graduate from this fake thing and date for real. But was that what was best? He wasn’t sure. Either way, today would probably be the day if any that Yamaguchi would want to “break up,” so he kind of maybe hoped he wouldn’t come. Or that they would just hang out with the two of them. </p><p>Kei wasted a few minutes staring at his e-mail with the link, brain on autopilot. He thought about it again and picked up his phone. They could hang out as friends, right? Kei could keep to himself and not make it weird. He put his phone down again, still torn. It was almost 6:30, and he almost considered actually going to his graduation. Running a hand over his face, he decided to take a quick shower. That would clear his mind. He sighed as the hot water washed over his back, turning his brain off. After showering with nothing but the Wii Shop theme song playing in his head, he got out and threw on a t-shirt and some basketball shorts, wandering in the kitchen to make something to eat. His mom was still working and Akiteru was somewhere, so it was nice and quiet. There were things cooking on the stove and the rice cooker beeped (scaring the absolute fuck out of him, actually) so he figured he’d get a glass of water and eat what whoever was cooking made. As soon as he poured the water, the door slid open noisily, his brother singing in the doorway.</p><p>“Hey, Mr. Graduate To Be,” he said with a smile. “I found a surprise on the way in.”</p><p>After Aki shuffled in, he saw Yamaguchi standing sheepishly in the doorway, holding up a bag.</p><p>“I brought Kahlua,” he offered tepidly, but it didn’t soften his shock at all. He hadn’t even texted him. To be honest, he looked a little tipsy already; Aki had probably been drinking at his house like a total traitor.</p><p>“It’s not even dark out yet,” was all he could bring himself to say, like an idiot, and Yamaguchi laughed, (which sounded differently in person, he remembered all over again.)</p><p>“I deserve it with all the bullshit I did at that bullshit college,” he said, taking his shoes off. “Kana-chan is the only real bitch there I respect.”</p><p>“Number one Kana-chan-sensei stan: Yamaguchi Tadashi,” he joked, taking out some bowls (and glasses, of course, Yamaguchi brought Kahlua.)</p><p>“Put that on ice,” he mumbled, pointing at the bag in Yamaguchi’s hand.</p><p>“Okie dokie~. Please sit down, Akiteru-nii,”</p><p>Akiteru giggled, like he did when he started drinking. He was such a lightweight honestly. </p><p>“Where’s mom,” he asked, putting the alcohol in the freezer next to him, bumping his hip.</p><p>“Working.”</p><p>“Still?” he closed the freezer, to which Akiteru warbled,</p><p>“Don’t slam!”</p><p>Kei scoffed turning around and kicking in his direction. “Shut up, you’re so bossy,”</p><p>Yamaguchi washed his hands, then tied up his hair. It was so long now, like, to his shoulders. He caught his eye (much to Kei’s embarrassment) and grinned, saying a soft and meaningful,</p><p>“Hey.”</p><p>“Hey,” he said back, and hoped all the words he wanted to say didn’t come out through that one. But wasn’t he just so good at being read? (The answer was actually no, but Yamaguchi always seemed to be able to pick up on everything like that.)</p><p>“It’s been a minute,” he murmured, unwrapping the melonpan he must’ve gotten with the alcohol. “How are you?”</p><p>“We facetimed like, a week ago.”</p><p>Yamaguchi scoffed, rolling his eyes, “It’s different, though, in person,” he said, bumping him and staying so their arms were touching. “It’s Tsukki, in the flesh.”</p><p>“Yamaguchi, in the flesh,” he echoed, digging through spices he didn’t even need to, he knew exactly where the curry powder and smoked salt were. Mostly since he’d cleaned the kitchen multiple times a day since his classes stopped. Yeah. Coping. If he was being honest, he forgot how wonderful being with Yamaguchi was, and didn’t want to move away from him now that they were touching.</p><p>“You both say you don’t know if you’re gonna be together but you guys get super bad when you’re in the same room,” his brother mumbled from the floor.</p><p>“Oh, my god, Akiteru-nii!” Yamaguchi laughed. </p><p>“What? You two are so annoying even right now. It’s...it’s been like...two. It’s been like, two seconds. And you are all over each other. That’s kind of gay, my dudes.”</p><p>“You’re so dumb, please be quiet,” Kei said, finding the strength to not put his face into the pot of whatever was boiling on the stove.</p><p>“Are you watching your graduation?”</p><p>“Hell no. Don’t you want to just drink instead? Get fucked up at 5:47 in the evening?” he joked, which made Yamaguchi chuckle. “Akiteru looks like he’s three glasses in.”</p><p>“One, half an hour ago.”</p><p>“Bet not get too crazy when you’re drunk. Me and mom are here so if any...hanky panky happens...you gotta go. Out. Out of the house. Just for the night, not like, forever. You’re not kicked out. It’s okay to be gay, just not in here. Wait, no...you can be gay in here just like, not, you know?”</p><p>Kei blinked, trying to process all of that jumble, while the man beside him gave him a noncommittal kick.</p><p>“It would be funny, though,” Yamaguchi said quietly to him only, getting a bowl. “To annoy them. See how far they can go. Aki gets so irritated, it’s hilarious.”</p><p>It was pushing it, they knew. To be a joke.</p><p>“You want me to be the sappy lovebird drunk?” Kei tried to joke, but the elation from Yamaguchi’s continuation of this game he was so sure he was going to put an end to crept into his voice.</p><p>“Yeah,” he said before he turned to greet Kei’s mom. “It’ll be funny.”</p><p>An hour and a few glasses later, it was absolutely so fucking funny. He felt great, actually. Yamaguchi had his head on the table and was laughing at something that he had no idea about, but that was just drunk Yamaguchi. He put a hand on his thigh, smiling. Something was on the edge of his tongue, something that he hadn’t thought of first, so it wasn’t like he knew what it was, but, something. It turned out that the something was “Yama,” which he had never called him before, so when Yamaguchi raised his head and looked at him with a confused (and very red) face, he related. But hey, repetition legitimizes. So, “Yama,” again, it was.</p><p>He giggled, like he did, and leaned in. “What.”</p><p>“Hey,” he said with a grin, now that he could see his face. It was the same Hey from earlier that told Yamaguchi everything he was thinking, and he was sure that the goofy-ass look on his face told him everything, too.</p><p>“Stop, oh my god,” he laughed again, covering his face. </p><p>“What?” he asked, leaning closer. They were so close they could kiss. Should they kiss? It would be funny. “You want a kiss?” he heard himself say, except it sounded better in his head.</p><p>He gasped, pushing his face away. “You’re so dumb, stop it.”</p><p>Kei only grinned again, watching Yamaguchi absolutely cackle from embarrassment.</p><p>“Ooooooo, you wanna kiss me so bad,” he said, like they were eleven again, talking about whether or not they practiced kissing on their hands or not. (Which they most certainly did.)</p><p>“Shut up, everybody’s here. <em> Hey, </em>” he said, confiscating Kei’s wrist when his hand got a little wander-y from its place on his thigh. “Not right now.”</p><p>“I haven’t seen you in forever,” he murmured, and maybe he was way drunker than he thought because when he leaned in to smoosh his face against Yamaguchi’s neck he felt very, very unsteady. It had been too long since he’d been this close. “Hey,” he said against Yamaguchi’s neck, and he felt him gasp a little, and maybe it wasn’t so bad that they were drunk cause he could get away with-</p><p>“Okay! That is enough! Not in my house! You guys can go ahead anywhere else but here! Goodbye!” Kei’s mom got them both up and in the doorway. “Here’s your masks, put on your shoes. Get out of my house and stay the night, I don’t care where you go but DO NOT come back.”</p><p>They both laughed, putting their masks and shoes on, absolutely losing it as soon as Drunk Mama Tsukishima slammed the door in their faces. </p><p>“I didn’t think she’d get so heated,” Yamaguchi chuckled as they started their walk to Anywhere Else.</p><p>“Oh, no, she is so bad," Kei chuckled, adjusting his bag over his shoulder. "One time in high school, Aki brought a girl and they were making out in his room and she walked in and she made him live in the backyard for a week. I was a good kid so I brought him dinner.”</p><p>“She told you to bring him dinner,” he scoffed. “Don’t lie.”</p><p>He laughed again, God, he was laughing so much recently. And by recently, he meant in the past hour. They wandered the street, getting their bearings. He liked the aimlessness of their walk. It was nice to get some fresh air together, considering the last time they’d done that was literal months ago. The town changed a little more every time. Things like new houses, old stores being closed and abandoned, old stores that had become abandoned becoming places for habitual street artists to tag up. There was an old conbini actually, that they were passing now, that had gotten some new art up. Kei didn’t recognize any of it, but Yamaguchi did.</p><p>“Look! Takahashi got a hold of that, huh?” he mumbled in awe (that Kei was absolutely so not jealous of. This Takahashi dude probably wasn’t even that great.) Kei’s jumbled thought process (not jealousy!!!) led him to say out loud, “I can do that.”</p><p>Yamaguchi did a double-take. “Huh? Wow, Tsukki, you’re so cool. You can do anything.”</p><p>It wasn’t a lie, Yachi did give him a crash course, but he was Very Not Good.</p><p>“So can you? You’re the cool one. You can do every art like...like it’s nothing.” he managed, which was pretty bad. The next part was worse, though. He did have too much, probably. “Let’s do it.”</p><p>The gleam in Yamaguchi’s eyes was the worst, though, because he immediately said, “Spraypaint. Let’s get spraypaint.”</p><p>“Where,” was his breathless reply.</p><p>“Mmm, I don’t know, what time is it? Everything closes so early now, so,”</p><p>He checked his phone, the screen shone 8:19. Wow. His graduation had passed and he hadn’t even noticed. He’d been too preoccupied. </p><p>“Only the everything store is open. We can check.”</p><p>The cool air cleared his head a little. He could walk steadier and such, but, he was still pretty buzzed. </p><p>The corner store was actually warmer than outside, when they walked in. Much to Kei’s surprise, there <em>was </em>spraypaint. </p><p>“Ooooo, what colors should we get?” Yamaguchi hummed, stepping back and looking.</p><p>“All of them,” he said, giving Yamaguchi a toothy grin (that he couldn’t see), but Yamaguchi just giggled and pushed him.</p><p>“Shut up, you’re so dumb I hate you.”</p><p>“You don’t,” he said, stepping behind him and hugging him. He patted his stomach (sturdy) and said in his stupid teasing tone, “Oh my god, you like me so much.”</p><p>“You’re so stupid, we’re gonna get kicked out,” he said, but made no effort to move him away, reaching to grab a yellow and a blue.</p><p>“Mm, get black and white, too. Get both blues. And a purple.”</p><p>“Well, Clingyshima-kun, I only have two hands.”</p><p>He reluctantly let go and grabbed the other cans, then they headed to the register. Yamaguchi put a KitKat on the counter, too. He was glad that he was wearing a mask because damn, he could not stop smiling. The flush of his face was also mostly hidden, besides his ears. </p><p>“So what kind of project are you boys working on?”</p><p>“Property damage,” Kei said with a chuckle.</p><p>“He’s joking!” Yamaguchi raised his voice, kicking him in the shin. (“Ow,” he managed through laughter.) “He’s joking, sir.”</p><p>The old man only laughed, too, handing them their receipt. “Well, I’ve heard patrol starts running through around nine, so...I’d scoot if I was you.”</p><p>They shared a look of surprise and a “uooooo?!”</p><p>“Thanks, ossan!” Yamaguchi said as they rushed to the door.</p><p>“Have a good night boys.”</p><p>Were they running? Why were they running? It wasn’t really that far. He guessed the excitement? He didn’t really mind, even though he was kind of out of shape. This was probably the most serotonin he’d ever had in his life. They disinfected the cans and Yamaguchi pulled his mask down to eat the candy he got. </p><p>“Nobody’s around, it’s fine,” he said defensively, and Kei squinted, but pulled his down too, opening his mouth to ask for a bite, which was granted.</p><p>“What should we draw?” Yamaguchi wondered out loud.</p><p>“Us,” was his intoxicated answer.</p><p>“Tsukki, we are not that talented.”</p><p>“Well, no, Tsukki, And Yamaguchi, like, the moon, tsuki, and a mountain, yama.”</p><p>Yamaguchi blinked, digesting. “Yeah! No yeah, actually, that’s awesome, let’s do that.”</p><p>And they pulled up their masks and started. They mapped first, then went ham. There was a nice blank space above where normal people couldn’t reach, but he was a freak and if Yamaguchi wanted to get up even higher, he’d boost him. It’d been a while since he’d done any kind of artistic expression like this, even music had been abandoned, his passion sitting somewhere on the blacktop by them, now. Yamaguchi was humming, like he did, and that sat right with him. He hadn’t had this kind of peace in a long time, and it just didn’t work if it wasn’t Yamaguchi.</p><p>The end result was really actually nice. A lonely mountain island surrounded by water and the moon above.</p><p>“Wanna draw some stars?”</p><p>Yamaguchi smiled wide. “Yes, please.”</p><p>“Can you reach?‘</p><p>“Yeah,” he said, but he put a hand on Kei’s shoulder to steady himself as he stood on his tippy toes. He sprayed some yellow flecks and called it. “Okay. Wow. It looks nice.”</p><p>“It does.” They stood back, flushed and smiling, admiring their work.</p><p>“I wish we could sign it.” Yamaguchi lamented.</p><p>“We can, we just have to be subtle. Like, Put our names in English or something.” It was a trick he’d actually picked up from Yachi, who the more he thought about it was kind of really fucking cool.</p><p>“You mean the letters? Lots of people know that around here. Especially cops.”</p><p>“No, no,” he picked up the black and the yellow. “Like, Tsukishima means Moon Island in English. So I’ll put moon island. It’ll match the art, too. What will you put? Just Mountain Entrance?”</p><p>“Mm, no, I think I’ll just do Mountain.” He scrawled a quick <em> Mountain </em> in the corner while Kei made black-outlined yellow bubble letters. He’d just finished the a when Yamaguchi kicked him.</p><p>“Tsukki. Tsukki, there’s a cop car!”</p><p>“Shit! Let’s go!”</p><p>They hurried and threw the spraypaint in the bag, absolutely taking off onto the sidewalk. For some reason he couldn’t stop laughing, which was fine because Yamaguchi was also laughing. He couldn’t remember ever running this fast or his heart thudding this strong or getting an adrenaline rush this bad before, and he was kind of uncoordinated and almost tripped a few times, but fuck, was he having fun. They were running from the cops and having the time of their lives. Nothing had been this exhilarating. But all the moments that came close were with Yamaguchi, too. He suddenly felt so, so young again, running hand in hand like they used to, just good old-fashioned getting into trouble. Sweating and breathing hard, they remembered his mother’s warning and headed to Yamaguchi’s apartment complex, running up the stairs in a fit of giggles. They both slammed the door shut together, Yamaguchi with his back against it, and Kei with his hands. They stared for a second, having shared the same brain for the whole time they ran home, and started laughing again, ripping off their masks. It was just the best. This was just the best, this was just so much fun.</p><p>“This is the first time I’ve broken quarantine,” he breathed, suddenly feeling very, very, bad.</p><p>“We need to wash our hands.”</p><p>“Do you think we’ll be arrested?” he asked lightly, breathing hard.</p><p>“No,” he said, surprisingly sure, and Kei chuckled again.</p><p>And they stared for a minute, until Kei realized he should probably move. He needed to turn around and take his shoes off. He needed to go into the kitchen, anywhere, because staring into Tadashi’s eyes, (and practically in kabedon, this was getting very ridiculous) was just going to lead to him making some Bad Decisions. But this was the happiest he’d ever been, and Yamaguchi clearly was thinking the same thing. So he stayed put. And they stared.</p><p>“Tsukki, we need to wash our hands,” he said, voice hoarse and unsupported. </p><p>Kei reached out. His fingers skimmed Tadashi’s spraypaint-covered ones, uncertain and insecure. He brought his eyes back up in question, and noticed his expression had changed. He closed his fingers around the shorter man’s, looking very deliberately in his eyes. Tadashi brought their hands up between them, and Kei laced them together.</p><p>“Nobody’s around,” he said, but Kei heard the <em>so we don’t have to do this</em>. Even though he didn’t say it.</p><p>“I know,” he said, and his voice came out way lower than he thought. He stepped forward.</p><p>“Tsukki.”</p><p>“Hm?” he asked nonchalantly, as if he didn’t just cut the distance between them to a few centimeters. </p><p>“You’re so touchy today,” he mused, rubbing his thumb over his knuckle.</p><p>“I missed you,” he offered lazily, still catching his breath. He was definitely touch starved, and it seemed like Yamaguchi was a little, too, or at least he was indulging him, because he was stroking his thumb gently.</p><p>“Let’s get some water,” he said, ducking under Kei’s arm and heading towards the sink. Kei followed him, lovesick and stupid, not letting go of his hand. “I need both, sir.” </p><p>He reluctantly let go, but stuck to his back while he filled up water from the tap. He couldn’t help but notice again, as they were washing, that they were covered in spraypaint. He so easily fixated on Yamaguchi’s hands, since they were beautiful in a way nobody else’s had ever been. He watched him turn the tap on and off, swallowing thickly, brain wandering. He wanted (which was too weak of a word, honestly) Yamaguchi’s hands to paint him. He wanted to be painted until he was covered in the same blues and purples and yellows. To reach every part of him and stain it until everyone could tell that they matched. He took a deep breath in, Yamaguchi's collar tickling his nose. He smelled like earth and hiking and running and mountains. Okay. Maybe he was going a little crazy, since he didn't really know what he was even talking about anymore. Touching was natural, and the past six weeks felt like hell since it was suddenly taken away from him for the second time. Kei took another breath. Mountains. Yes, he should never go this long without Yamaguchi again. He sipped the water that he was given, and they leaned on the counter together, in complete silence. Kei couldn’t help but stare.</p><p>“How you feelin’ big guy?” Yamaguchi teased, reaching up to tug on his bangs lightly. “You haven’t kept up with your volleyball fitness and now you’re all out of whack.” He had half a brain to say something about how his stamina had always been pretty bad, but all he could do was stare. Yamaguchi tucked a hair behind his ear, musing “It’s getting long,” </p><p>Kei’s chest ached. He leaned into his touch, turning his head to press a kiss to his palm. It was the first time his body had moved on its own, really, but it felt so natural that he didn’t feel any sort of way about it. That was, until Yamaguchi stared at him with a deer in the headlights kind of look. He didn’t move his hand, though. As he stared back, the thought that he wanted Yamaguchi to paint him persisted. </p><p>“Tsukki,“ he said, and Kei was still kinda drunk so he couldn’t unpack all of it, yet. It pissed him off, to be so unclear on what Yamaguchi was thinking. It had to be obvious what he was, though; Yamaguchi always read him like a book.</p><p>“What.” he managed to say back.</p><p>He paused.</p><p>“Congrats on graduation. You did really great.”</p><p>“Not really. You were the one who did really great,” he murmured, leaning his head against his hand. “I’m proud of you.”</p><p>“Don't be a suck-up,” he scolded. "I'm not giving you any more alcohol."</p><p>"That's not what I'm trying to get out of you," he joked, leaning down to give Yamaguchi a look face to face. He didn’t really know what he was doing, but hoped it was normal, because he did Not Feel Normal. It was the first time his body had moved on its own, and instead of a violation of their unspoken touching rule, it felt more like an extension? It was now within the realm of Best Friend touches? He turned around, laughing, and let himself collapse on his full-sized mattress that Shouichi had given him and it’s new and feels so nice, Tsukki! It did feel nice, just like he’d said.</p><p>Yamaguchi stayed in the kitchen for a second, staring at his cup. Kei recognized a rare Yamaguchi, who was somewhere between tired and annoyed, staring holes into his cup. Kei closed his eyes, because he was not going to think about just how much he liked that Yamaguchi, too. Actually, he did just want to think about how good he was-</p><p>"Are you really not going home?"</p><p>"Can I stay?"</p><p>Yamaguchi paused, putting his chin in his hand. "Hmm, depends. The Yamaguchi hotel is very expensive and lavish place, sir."</p><p>"Rocket League," he promised, and Yamaguchi's eyes narrowed in an amused smile.</p><p>“So you think I can just be bought off, huh?” he laughed, and Kei stared very deliberately into the pillow as he changed into his pajamas.</p><p>“Move over, you’re so big.”</p><p>“Ugh,” he groaned, not moving.</p><p>“You are so annoying.” He rolled him over with his foot, settling him with a final kick, and laid down next to him. He heard Breath of The Wild sounds and laughed to himself. </p><p>“You’re so mean. I need evidence to prove to everybody how mean you really are. Especially Akiteru.”</p><p>“I’m not mean. He knows that.”</p><p>“No, he’s always like, ‘Tadashi’s a perfect angel, he would never do anything bad!’”</p><p>Yamaguchi grinned wide, leaning his switch against his chest to look at him. “What do you think of first names?”</p><p>"Oh," Kei blinked, noticing he’d said it. His face felt even hotter than it already was. “Well, that’s what he calls you, so...”</p><p>“Yeah, but what do you think about using them? Like, I think everyone somewhat expected us to start cause we’re dating but we just still keep using the same names we always used.”</p><p>It gave him whiplash to hear Yamaguchi say “<em> because we’re dating </em> ” instead of “ <em> because they think we’re dating </em> ” or “ <em> because, you know. </em>” He knew it probably was just a slip-up since he was rambling, but it still made him embarrassed.</p><p>“Well, since you call me Tsukki, I think that’s fine. It’s like, a nickname, so I feel like it’s weird to let go of it just cause we’re dating.” even with his years of practiced apathy in his voice, he stumbled over the last phrase. His nonchalant disinterest was very hard to use when it came to Yamaguchi. "I mean, I guess it makes more sense for me to do the switch, since I don't have a nickname for you, but if you want me to call you that, I don't really-"</p><p>He was grinning so wide it was almost definitely teasing and Kei blinked, narrowing his eyes at him.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“<em> Kei. </em>”</p><p>For Kei, stupid drunk in his best friend’s apartment, the world stopped. He knew it was still turning, and there were still people walking and talking and coming back from work, but at the moment, Kei thought it would be fine if it did. If it froze and this was the end of time. He noticed everything and yet it all seemed to melt away, too. He could feel Yamaguchi’s hair against his bicep, his arms radiating warmth on his torso and Yamaguchi’s toes against his calves. The orange hue of the streetlight reaching in to paint the half-closed blind’s shape on the ceiling. The smell of shampoo. The sounds from the game he was playing. Yamaguchi's gentle expression, peeping every now and then, trying to gauge his reaction. The warmth in his chest.</p><p>
  <em> The warmth in his chest. </em>
</p><p>He shot up to a sitting position in shock. Bokuto-san’s face popped up in his head. <em> Oh, no. </em> He covered his face. <em> Oh no, oh no, oh no. </em> This was absolutely not happening. Yamaguchi stared at him, a confused smile on his face.</p><p>"Was it that embarrassing?"</p><p>His chest absolutely <em>ached </em>. He wanted to scream and laugh and cry and sing and do it all again, and with him, because he was in love with Yamaguchi Tadashi.</p><p>
  <em> Oh, fuck. </em>
</p><p>He took off his glasses and rubbed his face furiously. <em> Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck. </em>Fake dating, falling for a childhood friend, first loves at this age; he hated these ridiculous tropes. He never considered that he’d ever become one. He just wasn’t that sort of guy to play into cliches. But sure enough, he was three for three. </p><p>“What?” Yamaguchi laughed. “Are you embarrassed, Kei?”</p><p>“Don’t call me that!” he rolled his eyes, pushing his face away and getting up.</p><p>“What? I used to have to call you that when we were kids, cause everyone in your house is Tsukki.”</p><p>“It’s still embarrassing,” he said, his heart pounding irresponsibly in his chest, shuffling through their records.</p><p>“Can you put the sleep album on?” Yamaguchi asked, sounding a little tired. </p><p>“Yeah, sure.” Kei picked up his <em> Best Jazz Ballads </em>vinyl and put it in his record player. He made sure to start at the second notch on the A-side, since Yamaguchi wasn’t a fan of the first one. He’d done it subconsciously, like muscle memory. John Coltrane’s tender sax floated around the room, and he sat down next to him again. He nudged Yamaguchi’s arms up moving under them to rest his head on his chest. Still enthralled in Zelda, he only said, “You’re touchy lately.”</p><p>“I’m recharging.” </p><p>It was because he was touch-starved. That was why. Not because he wanted to hold Yamaguchi while the world stopped or because he felt really warm or because he’d imagined this very moment a billion times during finals week to keep him sane.</p><p>“Recharging?” he laughed. “Oh! There’s my horse.”</p><p>Kei chuckled at the afterthought. He really loved how Yamaguchi natural narration when he played videogames. Or when he did anything. It was very endearing.</p><p>"Are you okay?"</p><p>“Yeah," he said steadily. He wasn't, but he didn't want to think about it or talk about it yet.  He only laughed in response, probably picturing Kei being embarrassed again. The moment was soft. He pulled away from his chest a little and stared up at him. He was just riding his horse, but his eyes were still scanning his surroundings, probably keeping out for bad guys. Yamaguchi sneaked a look at him and did a double-take when he realized he was looking back. He paused the game, relaxing his hands.</p><p>"Hey," he laughed a little to himself.</p><p>"Huh?" Kei blinked.</p><p>Yamaguchi kicked him underneath the blanket, still snickering a little. "Your ears are red."</p><p>With just four words, the moment felt bigger than anything Kei had been through. Bigger than meeting him, bigger than starting volleyball, bigger than beating Ushiwaka, bigger than starting college, bigger than graduating. Bigger than when he took his first breath.</p><p>Yamaguchi was so beautiful like this. He was kind of tired, in a raggedy old volleyball t-shirt; his face was still kind of red and he was making fun of him at the moment, but this was the most beautiful he’d ever been. This was his favorite Yamaguchi.</p><p>It was a Friday night, Kei was 21, and Bokuto Koutarou was right about a major event in his life for the second time.</p><p>He sat up, coming between Yamaguchi and his switch, his arms resting on Kei’s shoulders. He wondered what kind of face he was making because Yamaguchi immediately looked serious and tentative. Shy, even. The only noise in the room was the sound of Johnny Hartman singing from the record player. And for a second they just looked at each other. He wasn’t sure what it was, but something was happening. The air felt different, and gravity felt different, and just looking at Yamaguchi made him forget how to breathe.</p><p>“Tadashi,” he said, more gentle than he’d ever heard his own voice.</p><p>It happened kind of quickly. Before he knew it, he was leaning, and Yamaguchi was pulling him in. The switch dropped from his hands and slid down Kei’s back to somewhere forgotten on the bed. He wondered if he’d saved before he just dropped it like that, but that didn’t really matter, but nothing really mattered because the only thing that mattered was that he was kissing Yamaguchi. It wasn’t that kissing was a big deal to Kei, sex wasn’t a big deal to Kei, but just kissing Yamaguchi felt considerably different than any other degree of intimacy he'd ever had in his life. </p><p>Yamaguchi’s right hand carded through his hair, left sliding over his shoulder. He couldn’t ever remember being held onto like this before. He couldn’t ever remember being touched like this at all, really. It made him feel like crying. Kei cupped his face carefully, brushing his thumb meaningfully over his cheek, tucking a piece of hair behind his ear. It was slow. He’d never kissed anyone slow and carefully before, taking everything about them in. He wasn’t really big on kissing, actually, but there was something different about this, because suddenly it was all he wanted to do, ever. He pulled back, and Yamaguchi kept his eyes closed, which prompted him to gently press a kiss on each eyelid, then his nose, then every freckle on his face he could see. Yamaguchi giggled at this, looping his arms around Kei’s neck. They looked again, for a short moment, then Yamaguchi guided him back down, into another kiss, sweet and slow. He kissed Yamaguchi until the record stopped, like he was paying back his whole life’s worth of what he missed. Yamaguchi held onto him, reassuring hands running over his face, and hair and neck and shoulders, and back up again. The tenderness, again, made him want to cry.</p><p>He pulled away, looking down at Yamaguchi.</p><p>“I'm really disappointed about Sendai museum.”</p><p>“I know,” he murmured, kissing Kei again. “I’m sorry.”</p><p>Gentle questioning touches were quickly answered by mutual ones, and they learned each others’ bodies in the only way they didn’t know them before. He felt so, so foolish for ever even trying to use replacements, since nothing could compare to him. It was nothing like his dream, either, which was quick and stupid and dirty, but instead tender and spiritual. It felt like a prayer, the way they pressed against each other, and every beautiful sound that left Tadashi’s mouth sounded like one, too.</p><p>Tadashi was just soft and warm and perfect, and Kei wanted him. Which was also new, since he had never really <em>wanted</em> anyone before. Want was for things like winning a high school volleyball match, or candy. He’d never wanted a person, or wanted to be wanted by a person or been willing to give himself to a person, and god he was such a bad drunk; he was definitely crying now. It wasn’t the first time he’d cried in front of him, so he didn’t have it in him to be embarrassed. He could worry about that tomorrow. He could worry about crying and the Sendai museum and every other thing that wasn't the man in front of him tomorrow. He held Tadashi, hands gentle on his thigh, gentle on his wrist. Tadashi cradled his face, but made a noise into his mouth, opening his eyes. He pulled Kei’s face up, wiping his cheeks.</p><p>“Hey. Why are you crying? Is it that bad?” he joked with a smile that tugged his heart even more.</p><p>“No,” he choked out earnestly, lips quivering as he gently rocked into him. “You’re good, you’re perfect. You’re everything.”</p><p>“Hey,” Tadashi smiled kindly, taking off Kei’s glasses and setting them on the nightstand. He wiped the tears from his eyes, and Kei turned his head to kiss his palms.</p><p>“You’re everything,” he murmured as he kissed his hands, then leaned back down again.  </p><p>For all the words they didn’t have to console each other, this seemed to pick up pretty well on where they left off. </p><hr/><p>“Are you okay?” he asked, for the fifth time, in the past 10 minutes, and Tadashi sighed.</p><p>"Yes, I’m fine. Go to bed," he said, gently tugging on blonde strands.</p><p>"Make me,"</p><p>Tadashi snickered silently. "I can do that, you know, you shouldn't threaten me," Kei, absolutely (secretly) thrilled he was getting his way, immediately made camp in his lap. "See? God, I feel so embarrassed for everyone who thinks you're even a little scary."</p><p>"Oh, I'm very scary," he said, immediately melting as Yamaguchi's hands shuffled through his hair.</p><p>"Do you have any self-awareness."</p><p>"Okay, you're the one person who I'm not scary to, so of course," he managed, taking off his glasses and setting them on the bedside table. </p><p>“Well, I've seen you scary before," he said softly. Voice faltering, hands not. He hated it a little bit, to hear his voice Like That. He immediately remembered the event that he was talking about. He'd gotten in a scuffle that one time, but it wasn't on school grounds, and the other guy wasn't gonna snitch, so nobody ever really knew about it. "Middle school is always the worst for everybody, though. Thank you for fighting for my honor," he whispered playfully, but with a hint of sincerity, and Kei reached up to take one hand. For comfort, his Big Dumb Tired Kahlua brain said. For comfort, his heart echoed back. He couldn't remember that kid's face, but he did remember Tadashi's. Tear-stained and yelling, pulling at his gangly limbs to <em>get off, Tsukki! It's fine already!</em></p><p>"Good memories," he asked, fading.</p><p>He fell asleep as he liked to, Tadashi recalling many, many of their good memories, comforting hands getting familiar again.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm apologizing for that. I know that was a lot, and also kinda rushed and messy, but I will revise it, and I'm just so happy I could finally give you a chapter. Please let me know what you thought and again, let me know if you want the link to the playlist for this fic. Looking forward to your comments!!! One more chapter to go!! (or maybe two? I think one, though)<br/>Also sekihan is a celebratory dish in Japan, you make it for happy occasions! I think it's sweet that all of Tsukki's good/happy occasions are tied to Yamaguchi. Anyway. I'm sorry for the pain that's about to happen to you next time. I mean what hahaha lmao see you soon!!<br/>- Mango</p>
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